Ya, if your "asteroid" is a subatomic particle in the quantum regime, maybe. But the impact of one such particle, even ultra-high-energy cosmic rays, can be safely ignored.
Everything of asteroid size, or on the Torino Scale [0] is in the realm described by classical mechanical physics, and it will merrily follow it's existing trajectory whether or not we know about it in advance.
So, the only question is whether or not it's better to know it's arriving some hours/days/weeks in advance.
* Certainly better in cases like this (observable but harmless).
* Definitely would be better in cases like the Chelyabinsk meteor [1] which caused a fair amount of damage and some injuries, if people would be given a warning to avoid being near windows, etc.
* Absolutely better in cases of regional devastation to global catastrophe where we have time and resources to alter the trajectory to reduce or eliminate harm. Even just enough lead time to only move many of the people out of the impact damage region is a definite benefit.
* YMMV in cases of in cases of regional devastation to global catastrophe where we lack time and resources to alter the trajectory or move people. Is it better to know you'll die in X hours or be surprised?
So, I'd say everything below Torino-5 is definitely a good discovery (I think this is a Torino-0], and everything above depends on circumstances. Overall, a very good idea.
Everything of asteroid size, or on the Torino Scale [0] is in the realm described by classical mechanical physics, and it will merrily follow it's existing trajectory whether or not we know about it in advance.
So, the only question is whether or not it's better to know it's arriving some hours/days/weeks in advance.
* Certainly better in cases like this (observable but harmless).
* Definitely would be better in cases like the Chelyabinsk meteor [1] which caused a fair amount of damage and some injuries, if people would be given a warning to avoid being near windows, etc.
* Absolutely better in cases of regional devastation to global catastrophe where we have time and resources to alter the trajectory to reduce or eliminate harm. Even just enough lead time to only move many of the people out of the impact damage region is a definite benefit.
* YMMV in cases of in cases of regional devastation to global catastrophe where we lack time and resources to alter the trajectory or move people. Is it better to know you'll die in X hours or be surprised?
So, I'd say everything below Torino-5 is definitely a good discovery (I think this is a Torino-0], and everything above depends on circumstances. Overall, a very good idea.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torino_scale
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelyabinsk_meteor