METEOR (Blegvad-Partridge) Close Earth Flyby By Asteriod 2005 YU55

This radar image of asteroid 2005 YU55 was obtained on Nov. 7, 2011, at 11:45 a.m. PST (2:45 p.m. EST/1945 UTC), when the space rock was at 3.6 lunar distances, which is about 860,000 miles, or 1.38 million kilometers, from Earth.  Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech



A mass ofMinerals and Metals,
Confused into aball,
Hurtlingthrough a Vacuum
On a MillionMile fall.

A piece ofshattered planet,
The lastsurviving chunk,
Ten times thesize of Canada,
A Crumb of Interstellar Junk.

Meteor,Meteor.
Don't you hearthat distant roar?
Doom iscalling Door-to-Door :
Prepare to meetthy Meteor !

Hurtlingthrough emptiness,
With No One atthe Wheel,
Imagine if itlanded here,
Imagine howyou'd feel --

The oceanswould evaporate,
You couldn't seefor steam,
And even themost Rational
Would think itwas a Dream.

 

Meteor,Meteor.
Don't you hearthat distant roar?
Doom iscalling Door-to-Door :
Prepare to meetthy Meteor !

And anotherPlanet Shattered,
Pieces scatteredto the Stars,
We wouldn'tthink it mattered
if the planetwasn't Ours.

The Moonbegins to wander
Now its anchor's been destroyed,
Driftingwithout Influence
Out into thevoid.

The humanrace wiped out
When we wereJust about to switch
fromInhumanity to Sanity,
Now wouldn'tthat be rich?

As you diedyour only comfort
Would be thatyou Knew
All theagents of Corruption
in the worldwere Dying Too.

Meteor,Meteor.
Don't you hearthat distant roar?
Comingthrough the Kitchen Floor :
Prepare to meetthy Meteor !




NOTE:  I'm sorry not to be able to sharea recording of Peter Blegvad (Slapp Happy) and Andy Partridge's (XTC) song with you, but the only version I have heard can't be uploaded, although I imagine it can be found somewhere out there on the Celestial Jukebox.  I wish Blegvad (who included it in live performances, such as the 3-14-92 concert at St. Ann's in Brooklyn) committed it to a fixed "vinyl" (sorry for dating myself) version because, as you can see,  it’s a terrificlyric wedded to a driving, exciting melody and rhythm. Until Asteroid Armageddon, Meteor (like its composers) will remain perennially relevant.  

 P.S.  Asteroid 2005 YU55 is not "Ten times thesize of Canada", but only as big as the "supercarrier" USS Nimitz, "one of the largest warships in the world."  DUCK! (and cover).