Asteroid Apophis, which may hit Earth in 2036, will pass close by this week

Asteroid Apophis, which may hit Earth in 2036, will pass close by this week

www.news.com.au

PLANET Earth will get a close look at a wandering demon when asteroid Apophis passes within a few million kilometres on Thursday.
99942 Apophis - named after the Egyptian demonic serpent-spirit of destruction - blasted itself into public awareness back in 2004 when astronomers calculated a 1 in 45 chance of it hitting the Earth on 13 April 2029.
New data and fresh calculations have all but ruled out the risk for 2029 - but exposed a small chance that the asteroid could get alarmingly close in 2036.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What I find most interesting is we will be able to see this in the night sky. The name of the asteroid was taken from an Egyptian demonic serpent-spirit of destruction.

This is the chinese year of the Snake.

I realise it is speculation only for the year 2036 that suggestions may be that this asteroid will impact earth, yet I can't seem to see a coincidence in the fact that in the year of the Snake we are going to learn all about this asteroid and determin if indeed it is going to hit earth.

SO if they determine that it will hit Earth, the destruction asteroid named after a snake, proven in the year of the snake. To impact in the yearof the Fire Dragon.

www.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by magma


What I find most interesting is we will be able to see this in the night sky.

Only if you have a decent telescope (like me ), and know exactly where to look.

It is a scary one, but as the time gets closer to the closest pass, I'm sure the odds will have dropped significantly.

Or we can all hope.......

Should we deflect it now or maybe that could cause another deflection that could send something bigger our way...it's a no win situation...

reply to post by woogleuk


Although we can already be quite certain that it's not going to pass through the gravitational keyhole required for it to have any chance of impacting in 2036. The current probability of an impact is 1 in 250,000, and that will almost certainly become effectively zero after this near-pass.

Interesting! What are the odds Apophis will enter Earth atmosphere around 2029 - 2036? With it passing by so many times in just our lifetime, that's scary.

Considering large asteroids and comets have exterminated life on Earth in the past, even just in 1908 a 6km incinerated the Tanguska region with the power of over 1,000 Hiroshimas!

What if the next entry hits a more populated area like the Americas Europe or South/East Asia?



It could evaporate all earth's oceans! Or worse! Consider how our moon was formed...

reply to post by minnow


Why don't we worry about getting to 2029 first. I'm sure we will have more space boogers to worry about before Apophis in 2029-2036.

Originally posted by minnow
Interesting! What are the odds Apophis will enter Earth atmosphere around 2029 - 2036? With it passing by so many times in just our lifetime, that's scary.

Considering large asteroids and comets have exterminated life on Earth in the past, even just in 1908 a 6km incinerated the Tanguska region with the power of over 1,000 Hiroshimas!

What if the next entry hits a more populated area like the Americas Europe or South/East Asia?

It could evaporate all earth's oceans! Or worse! Consider how our moon was formed...

Oh good lord......

99942 Apophis is only is 350 metres (1,150 ft) wide. It's is NOTHING as large as the one in the video you posted.

While we don't want it to hit, it will have the following affect:

impact risk page lists the diameter at 0.270 km, or 270 metres (890 ft) and lists a mass of 27 megatonnes based on an assumed density of 2.6 g/cm3.[3] The mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but should be accurate to within a factor of three.

So we're looking at a 27 Megatonne event. The Tsar Bomba was the largest nuclear detonation and was 57 Megatonnes.

Our oceans didn't evaporate then, nor did it peel our crust back, and turn our atmosphere into rock vapor.

I also think you meant to say the Tunguska Event. That blast was between 5 to 30 megatonnes. Not 1,000 MT's..........

Is it too early to have another End of the World party? I mean, you can never start too early right?

Knowing my luck I would have this highly successful, lucrative career in 2036. My kid would be a Harvard grad and I would be sitting there with my husband thinking "OMG, My life is so great, things are so great" then an asteroid would hit.

reply to post by eriktheawful


I thought I heard that if it was to impact, they already know where it will hit according to their calculations. I'm pretty sure they said somewhere in the pacific ocean but I could be wrong.

reply to post by antonia


You must be a victim of the Bundy curse.

reply to post by minnow


The Tunguska event was due to a meteor estimated around 100m, not 6 km. So "IF" Apophis were to hit at it's 350meters and was an airburst event it could be pretty enormous. Even if it wasn't an airburst, it could still yield some pretty nasty results. Again, 350 meters is nothing like the vid you posted either.

Originally posted by eriktheawful

Originally posted by minnow
Interesting! What are the odds Apophis will enter Earth atmosphere around 2029 - 2036? With it passing by so many times in just our lifetime, that's scary.

Considering large asteroids and comets have exterminated life on Earth in the past, even just in 1908 a 6km incinerated the Tanguska region with the power of over 1,000 Hiroshimas!

What if the next entry hits a more populated area like the Americas Europe or South/East Asia?

It could evaporate all earth's oceans! Or worse! Consider how our moon was formed...

Oh good lord......

99942 Apophis is only is 350 metres (1,150 ft) wide. It's is NOTHING as large as the one in the video you posted.

While we don't want it to hit, it will have the following affect:

impact risk page lists the diameter at 0.270 km, or 270 metres (890 ft) and lists a mass of 27 megatonnes based on an assumed density of 2.6 g/cm3.[3] The mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but should be accurate to within a factor of three.

So we're looking at a 27 Megatonne event. The Tsar Bomba was the largest nuclear detonation and was 57 Megatonnes.

Our oceans didn't evaporate then, nor did it peel our crust back, and turn our atmosphere into rock vapor.

I also think you meant to say the Tunguska Event. That blast was between 5 to 30 megatonnes. Not 1,000 MT's..........

You should discover the difference between a 27Mton of rock hurtling towards you and 57Mton of TNT just sitting to be detonated.

Very much a different calculation. A 27Mton asteroid heading in at insane velocity will impact with a lot more force than only it's weight.

Come on!

P

reply to post by CLPrime


On another site a few years back when this particular comet was found, I was envolved in a
discussion whether Apophis would change it's expected trajectory during it's Earth pass in
2029 bringing it closer than calculated in 2036.

The conclusion was to wait and see during it's 2029 pass.

@Woogleuk -

I have a 8 inch Dobsonian (Orion is magnificent right now)

reply to post by HumAnnunaki


The official conclusion, however, is that there is no need to wait until 2029. With the additional orbital details gained during this pass, astronomers will be able to determine with near-absolute certainty whether the pass in 2029 will bring it through that gravitational keyhole you're referring to. It is that pass in 2029 that will determine whether or not Apophis impacts, but we will know with this pass what the outcome of the one in 2029 will be.

I wonder how long its visible easily . Mother Shipton allways comes to mind, that line, Seven days and Seven nights man shall watch this Awesome sight.1%

2036!?!?! Darn it all to hell, just when my 5 year plan is going to take form...

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrmageddon


the movie

Originally posted by pheonix358

Originally posted by eriktheawful

Originally posted by minnow
Interesting! What are the odds Apophis will enter Earth atmosphere around 2029 - 2036? With it passing by so many times in just our lifetime, that's scary.

Considering large asteroids and comets have exterminated life on Earth in the past, even just in 1908 a 6km incinerated the Tanguska region with the power of over 1,000 Hiroshimas!

What if the next entry hits a more populated area like the Americas Europe or South/East Asia?

It could evaporate all earth's oceans! Or worse! Consider how our moon was formed...

Oh good lord......

99942 Apophis is only is 350 metres (1,150 ft) wide. It's is NOTHING as large as the one in the video you posted.

While we don't want it to hit, it will have the following affect:

impact risk page lists the diameter at 0.270 km, or 270 metres (890 ft) and lists a mass of 27 megatonnes based on an assumed density of 2.6 g/cm3.[3] The mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but should be accurate to within a factor of three.

So we're looking at a 27 Megatonne event. The Tsar Bomba was the largest nuclear detonation and was 57 Megatonnes.

Our oceans didn't evaporate then, nor did it peel our crust back, and turn our atmosphere into rock vapor.

I also think you meant to say the Tunguska Event. That blast was between 5 to 30 megatonnes. Not 1,000 MT's..........

You should discover the difference between a 27Mton of rock hurtling towards you and 57Mton of TNT just sitting to be detonated.

Very much a different calculation. A 27Mton asteroid heading in at insane velocity will impact with a lot more force than only it's weight.

Come on!

P

Indeed. The one that did the Barringer crater near Flagstaff, AZ was 50 meters across. It expended 6-15 MT, a lot of it in vaporizing most of the meteor before it reached the ground. Another data point, on the other side: the Chixchulub meteor (that capped the dinosaurs) expended 100 million megatons of energy. It was 10 km across.

Originally posted by pheonix358


You should discover the difference between a 27Mton of rock hurtling towards you and 57Mton of TNT just sitting to be detonated.

Very much a different calculation. A 27Mton asteroid heading in at insane velocity will impact with a lot more force than only it's weight.

Come on!

P

Sigh.........


This is what happens when people do not READ or fail to UNDERSTAND.

The Asteroid is not 27 megatonnes in weight.

27 megatonnes is the estimated energy release if it were to impact the earth.

It would release the same amount of energy as a 27 million tons of TNT.

The Tsar Bomba (which was air dropped by the way, so it wasn't standing still), when it detonated released energy equivalent to 57 million tons of TNT.