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A combination of slight overhype and very interesting information about meteorites by Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States(cashbacher@yahoo.com)) 4 Stars October 25, 2008 While there is a danger that a meteor will impact the Earth and wipe out human civilization, the level of that danger is a point of major debate. There is now little scientific doubt that the major impact of a meteor in the Yucatan peninsula of Central America contributed to the vast extermination of species, including the elimination of the dinosaurs. While this topic is handled reasonably well in this video, there is an occasional degeneration into unnecessary and counterproductive hype. The most interesting part of the video and what would make it worthy of being shown in a science class is the descriptions of the various types of meteorites and what they contain. Furthermore, given that small meteorites have been impacting the Earth for millions of years, it is possible for the amateur with a metal detector to find them. By far, the most interesting segment is the description of a private collection of meteorites, most of which the collector himself has discovered. While computing exact probabilities is very hard, it seems reasonable to assume that another impact of the magnitude of the Tunguska explosion of 1908 will occur in the next one or two centuries. Such an event could cause anywhere from a few deaths to millions, so it is something to be considered. Therefore, this is an instance where hyping the potential for an event can be somewhat justified because the danger is real. We just don't know yet how real, which is why the program to examine all sectors of the sky for all potentially dangerous objects should be supported.