Will the asteroid Apophis fall to Earth? Now there is an exact answer

In June 2004, astronomers managed to discoverthe asteroid Apophis, with a diameter of 300 meters. In the course of studying the trajectory of its movement, scientists discovered that in the next century, the space object will approach the Earth several times at a very dangerous distance. The asteroid was added to the list of potentially dangerous objects, because its fall on the surface of our planet could easily cause a global catastrophe. It is not surprising that the space object was named after the ancient Egyptian god Apop, the lord of darkness. Since the asteroid is very dangerous, astronomers are constantly monitoring it. The closest approach to the Earth should occur in 2029 and 2036, but scientists are confident that a collision will not occur. All this time, only 2068 remained in question - until now it was believed that the risk of an asteroid falling at this time is far from zero. Fearfully? You can breathe out and calm down, because scientists recently shared some good news.

The risk of an asteroid falling to Earth always exists. But when it happens, nobody knows

The approach of the asteroid to the Earth

According to NASA's aerospace agency,no threat from the asteroid Apophis is currently observed. According to Davide Farnocchia, an employee of the Center for the Study of Near-Earth Objects, calculations show that in the next 100 years, a space object will definitely not fall on us. The asteroid does approach our planet from time to time, but on a cosmic scale, the distance between it and us remains enormous. The last time Apophis flew past us was at the beginning of March. The distance between the asteroid and the Earth was 17 million kilometers, almost 50 times farther than the Moon. There was nothing to worry about.

Asteroid Apophis as seen by the artist

During the rapprochement, scientists observed himmovement using the Goldstone Observatory, which is located in the US state of California. As a result of the work done, scientists have received relatively good pictures of Apophis. The images are not striking in their beauty and detail, but they make it possible to estimate the speed and rotation of a space object. Judging by the photograph, Apophis has an elongated shape and consists of two "stuck together" parts. It was thanks to these photographs that scientists were able to clarify the data on the trajectory of the asteroid's flight and find out that it will not collide with us even in 2068.

Yes, with the help of such a picture you can find out the shape and speed of the asteroid.

One of the closest approaches of the asteroid Apophis withour planet will happen in 2029. It will fly at a distance of 32 thousand kilometers from the surface of the Earth. According to scientists, this is even closer than the location of some artificial satellites. Because of this, there is a chance that the asteroid will be visible even with the naked eye. Most likely, at this time there will be many high-quality photographs of a huge space object. But, it is worth noting once again, he will not pose any danger to us. The Center for the Study of Near-Earth Objects even excluded him from the list of dangerous asteroids.

The crater that remained after the fall of the asteroid Chicxulub

It may well be that some people will be able tosurvive the disaster. Only then, the survivors still risk dying. Just imagine that most of the cities are abandoned, and the survivors are somewhere far from them. Numerous nuclear reactors will collapse and new, even more destructive explosions may well follow. So in the event of a large asteroid falling, our civilization is literally doomed to death.

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A fully working way to save the Earth fromthe asteroid does not exist. Someone proposes to destroy dangerous objects with small arms, and some want to develop technology to change the trajectory of their movement. Which of these ideas will work is still unknown. Fortunately, at the moment, there is not even an urgent need for them.