IS IT comforting or not to know when the end may be nigh?

That may be the question to ask now that scientists here in Southampton have developed new software that can predict where a deadly destructive asteroid will fall to earth.

The good news is that there is only a one in 10,000 chance that an asteroid will strike Norfolk in the next 85 years.

The bad news is likely to be that such an impact will pretty much ruin quite a few people’s day.

Contrary to movie blockbuster theories, life on the planet may not be removed by such a collision, but many would not survive such an impact.

Scary stuff indeed, and again the question as to whether it might be better to live in ignorance.

However, forewarned is to be forearmed and at least knowing where the asteroid dropping zones might be may lead to better understanding of how to avoid them altogether.

On a serious note, of course, the more we can understand the workings of our tiny part of the cosmos the better we will understand what the future has in store for all of us on this tiny blue planet.