Will the government shutdown keep us from noticing a dangerous asteroid barreling towards Earth? Probably not.
Twitter users were worried when NASA's "Asteroid Watch" Twitter account announced that the page would not be updated until the government shutdown ended.
"In the event of government shutdown, we will not be posting or responding from this account. We sincerely hope to resume tweets soon," NASA tweeted. The message prompted concern that the nation would not be warned in the event of an incoming deadly space object.
NASA clarified their statement, easing many people's minds.
"To clarify: Many observatories, astronomers are watching the skies," NASA's Asteroid Watch tweeted. They included a link to an "updated list of Near-Earth Objects."
NASA also tweeted that all NASA activities would be cancelled until the problem was sorted out.
Asteroid conference staff and attendees didn't let the ordeal get them down. The B612 Foundation, who's motto is "Defending the Earth Against Asteroids," decided to sponsor the Asteroid Initiative Ideas Synthesis Workshop in Houston themselves, a SpaceRef press release reported.
The Catalina Sky Survey, which has been responsible for the discovery of the majority of Near-Earth objects over the past few years, plans to continue operating into the foreseeable future, NBC News reported.
"The detection stuff is still going on," said Tim Spahr, director of the Minor Planet Center told NBC.
Most of the country's asteroid-hunting programs are funded by NASA but also receive grant money, which will most likely allow them to keep scanning the skies.
Employees who analyze images from the Catalina Sky Survey, the Pan-STARRS telescope, and a number of other projects that are running off grant money, are still at work. Most of the remaining NASA staff are at home today, and won't be able to go back to work until the government shutdown has been sorted out.
NASA has "ceased most of its operations," except for those that would put life or property in danger if they were absent. The operations regarding the astronaut staff aboard the International Space Station are still running.
