UBC Astronomy Linked to web hoax

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE LATEST WEB HOAX

An unusual - and totally ridiculous - conspiracy theory has emerged on the Web connecting UBC Physics & Astronomy, the Antarctic ice shelf, and the threat of a devastating asteroid impact.

Quoting the version of this cosmic urban myth which started circulating yesterday: "University of British Columbia Professor published an on-line article that projected an 800m asteroid would hit Antarctica in the fall of 2012. His article was on the www.phas.ubc.ca website for 2 days before it abruptly disappeared. The initial data was gathered by The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Sub millimeter Telescope (BLAST) at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The theorized asteroid was then tracked by Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, which (with the Adaptive Optics Bonnette) supplies probably the sharpest images currently obtainable from the ground."

The ONLY true parts of this statement are: (1) there is indeed a balloon-borne instrument called BLAST in which UBC is a key partner, and it does collect data over Antarctica; and (2) the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and its adaptive optics system do obtain superbly sharp astronomical images.

The rest is ridiculous. BLAST cannot detect asteroids. And no one could extrapolate the orbital path of a newly discovered asteroid to predict two years in advance that it would strike Antarctica (vs. other spots on Earth). No such article ever appeared on the UBC Physics & Astronomy web site.

This is a story on a par with the annual "Mars as big as the Full Moon" hoax that makes the rounds on the web, except that in this case, it can cause people undue alarm. The only reaction to this story should be amusement, followed by anger that some people are willing to prey on public fears and their interest in astronomy.

Dr. Jaymie Matthews