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is Coming to Korea - Korea IT Times

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Edi<strong>to</strong>rial<br />

Ancient Maya Long Count Calendar. In<br />

addition, the famous prophesier Michel de<br />

Nostradamus or more formally known as<br />

Nostradamus also depicts 2012 as the end.<br />

Nostradamus's most famous prophecies<br />

are the predictions of Napoleon, Hitler<br />

and 9/11. Thus, the one that seems the<br />

most stat<strong>is</strong>tically probable <strong>is</strong> 2036 because<br />

the asteroid Apoph<strong>is</strong> will supposedly collide<br />

with the Earth.<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> was d<strong>is</strong>covered in 2004, by astronomers<br />

and <strong>is</strong> named after the Egyptian<br />

god of "uncreation". The size of Apoph<strong>is</strong><br />

<strong>is</strong> a 300-metre-diameter chunk of rock. At<br />

first there was a 2.7 percent chance that<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> would hit the Earth. However,<br />

NASA recalculated the luckily hood of a<br />

coll<strong>is</strong>ion as of now the prediction <strong>is</strong> 1 in<br />

250,000 chance of a coll<strong>is</strong>ion. Nevertheless,<br />

Russia does not believe in NASA stats and<br />

<strong>is</strong> pers<strong>is</strong>ting that our lives are in danger<br />

and that Apoph<strong>is</strong> will be closer <strong>to</strong> Earth<br />

than the TV satellites. In turn, th<strong>is</strong> might<br />

make 2036, the year when we all per<strong>is</strong>h in<br />

cataclysmic event.<br />

In the event of th<strong>is</strong> cataclysmic event,<br />

the rock would hit with energy equivalent<br />

<strong>to</strong> a 500 mega<strong>to</strong>n nuke barrage. Or if more<br />

than half of all the nuclear weapons in the<br />

US arsenal went off. To put th<strong>is</strong> in<strong>to</strong> perspective<br />

the size of Seoul <strong>is</strong> 233 square<br />

miles and one mega<strong>to</strong>n nuclear bomb creates<br />

a fires<strong>to</strong>rm that can cover 100 square<br />

miles. A 20 mega<strong>to</strong>n blast covers 2500<br />

square miles. Thus, the destructive power<br />

from a 500 mega<strong>to</strong>n nuke <strong>is</strong> enormous.<br />

The threat of an asteroid crashing in<strong>to</strong><br />

Earth has captivated the imaginations of<br />

many movie audiences. For example, remember<br />

in the movie Armageddon,<br />

NASA d<strong>is</strong>covered that there <strong>is</strong> an asteroid<br />

roughly the size of Texas heading <strong>to</strong>wards<br />

the Earth, and when it does hit the Earth,<br />

the planet itself and all of its inhabitants<br />

will be obliterated. The military decides <strong>to</strong><br />

fire a nuclear warhead <strong>to</strong> blow up the asteroid.<br />

It turns out that Russia has seen<br />

th<strong>is</strong> movie a few <strong>to</strong>o, many times and <strong>is</strong><br />

working <strong>to</strong> develop a very real<strong>is</strong>tic plan <strong>to</strong><br />

counter such a threat. They will design defensive<br />

measures against Apoph<strong>is</strong> or future<br />

asteroids. One of Russia's defensive<br />

strategies <strong>is</strong> <strong>to</strong> deflect the asteroid by using<br />

nuclear weapons. Another strategy <strong>is</strong> <strong>to</strong><br />

use a spacecraft <strong>to</strong> deflect the asteroid out<br />

of the Earth's orbit. Ana<strong>to</strong>ly Perminov<br />

who <strong>is</strong> a Russian rocket scient<strong>is</strong>t and a mechanical<br />

engineer ins<strong>is</strong>ts that we should<br />

develop a multimillion system <strong>to</strong> prevent<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> from colliding with the Earth.<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> just that word will strike fear in<strong>to</strong><br />

the hearts of men and women.<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> will be v<strong>is</strong>ible with the naked<br />

eye in 2029 as a point of intense <strong>to</strong>rch<br />

burning across the sky. Yet in 2029,<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong> probably will not collide with the<br />

Earth. The most spine-chilling outcome <strong>is</strong>,<br />

if Earth’s gravity affects the path of<br />

Apoph<strong>is</strong>, it will swing back around and<br />

2036 will be the end of the world.<br />

Real-time News<br />

JDC, Singapore-<br />

Based SUTL Signed<br />

MOU for Jeju Marina<br />

Development<br />

Jeju Free International City Development<br />

Center (JDC) signed an MOU with<br />

Singapore-based marina development<br />

and operation company SUTL for the<br />

development of Jeju marina. JDC on the<br />

12th held an MOU signing ceremony at<br />

the 11th floor of its headquarters, inviting<br />

JDC employees, including Jong-il Byon,<br />

chairman and CEO, and Arthur Tay,<br />

chairman of SUTL, <strong>to</strong> sign the MOU.<br />

Under the MOU, JDC will receive consulting<br />

from SUTL, ranging from the<br />

planning <strong>to</strong> development stages of the<br />

marina project, which will become a new<br />

growth driver for value-added business.<br />

The major points of the MOU are providing<br />

consulting service during the stage<br />

of planning for the marina facilities, soliciting<br />

potential inves<strong>to</strong>rs jointly with JDC<br />

according <strong>to</strong> prearranged plans, and participate<br />

in investment, development and<br />

operations when establ<strong>is</strong>hing a JV company.<br />

In particular, JDC plans <strong>to</strong> utilize<br />

SUTL's network, which has successfully<br />

developed and operated world-class<br />

marinas, <strong>to</strong> attract investment for the project.<br />

Last year JDC invited a SUTL delegation<br />

<strong>to</strong> Jeju <strong>to</strong> explain the investment<br />

environment, and Byon made a personal<br />

v<strong>is</strong>it <strong>to</strong> "One 5 Marina Club" in Singapore<br />

<strong>to</strong> pursue investment in Jeju. During the<br />

meeting, SUTL expressed its strong interest<br />

in the project and desire <strong>to</strong> make direct<br />

investment when the project plan <strong>is</strong><br />

finalized. With the participation of<br />

SUTL, JDC <strong>is</strong> expecting Jeju Marina<br />

Develop-ment, which had been seen as a<br />

idle land, <strong>to</strong> be facilitated through the<br />

company's world-class knowhow.<br />

www.koreaittimes.com 11

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