The Star on the Tip of the Moon

Astronaut Aldyn Mackie is on his return trip home after serving his stint on a small space station. During that time he and NASA have been following a nebula through space that's on track to bypass Earth...or it was. Now it's heading straight for the planet. Set to re-enter the atmosphere in the next hour, NASA gives Aldyn the go ahead, informing him that he should be safe as the nebula will be gone by the time he lands. After all, it's just a cloud of ions, gases, and dust, right? What cou...