IF YOU took a holiday last week, you may have missed news of the end of the world and its sudden reprieve. First, headlines warned that a two-kilometre asteroid was hurtling our way, with doomsday writ large for 1 February 2019. A few days later, much to the relief of anyone planning their retirement, we got the all-clear – in predictably smaller type.
Some astronomers were upset, complaining that the apocalyptic headlines never reflected the true nature of the threat. Worse, some reports made it look as though astronomers had made a mistake, crying wolf before they were sure of the…
