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Asteroid "Apophis" changes its trajectory - NASA provides a forecast of when it could hit

2021-09-10T03:40:13.261Z


It had changed its trajectory: the asteroid Apophis threatened to hit the earth in just a few years. That is how likely this scenario is.


It had changed its trajectory: the asteroid Apophis threatened to hit the earth in just a few years.

That is how likely this scenario is.

Munich - Whether "Deep Impact" or "Armageddon" - in the nineties, Hollywood disaster films with asteroids as the villain were in vogue.

The horror scenario was always the same: A boulder from space threatens to wipe out humanity with a huge impact.

This possibility also exists in reality: with the asteroid "Apophis" the danger seemed to have been averted at first - but it suddenly changed its trajectory.

According to researchers from the University of Hawaii, a collision between the asteroid, named after the Egyptian god of chaos, and the earth could no longer be ruled out.

Apophis was discovered back in 2004. "Our observations show that the asteroid is drifting away from its purely gravitational orbit," said US astronomer Dave Tholen, who is part of the team of scientists who tracked Apophis.

The Jarkowski effect is to blame: That is why the asteroid Apophis has changed its trajectory

But why had the asteroid changed its trajectory and could now become a deadly danger?

The so-called “Jarkowski effect” is to blame.

Because it is exposed to uneven solar radiation, one side of the celestial body heats up more than the other.

Every year there should therefore be a course deviation of 170 meters.

In eight years' time, Apophis will approach Earth for the first time: on April 13, 2029, to be precise. On this date, according to the researchers, there is no danger to our planet, even if the asteroid is in its orbit at an incredible 25,000 kilometers per hour Sun is on the way.

"Apophis" comes close to the earth twice - what will happen in 2029 and 2068?

It looked differently for the year 2068: For this year there was the possibility of an impact of the celestial body with a diameter of 370 meters.

The damage would be catastrophic, and roughly comparable to 18 of the largest atomic bombs at the same time.

900 megatons of energy would be released.

But also for this year the all-clear a few months later, if NASA is to be believed: Based on new observations, the US space agency announced that there would be no risk from Apophis for the next hundred years.

The authority announced this in March 2021.

That it will happen at some point, whether in Apophis or another asteroid, seems inevitable.

The researcher Alan Harris said earlier this year of a 100 percent probability that an asteroid could collide with the earth.

Hopefully humanity will then have a better plan than in "Armageddon".

Sending Bruce Willis into space, drilling there and blasting the chunk at the last second, unfortunately only works in Hollywood.

(cg)

List of rubric lists: © Marc Ward / Imago

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-09-10

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