Deadly ‘God of Chaos’ space rock capable of killing millions could hit Earth on 10 different dates
A POTENTIALLY deadly asteroid has ten chances to collide with Earth over the next 84 years, according to Nasa.
The space rock Apophis is taller than the Empire State Building and could wipe out millions if it careens into our planet.
It’s being tracked by Nasa’s automated “” warning system, which predicts the object’s next flyby will occur in April, 2060.
A further nine close passes are expected between that date and April, 2103.
While the chances of impact are small, the asteroid will come close enough that Nasa is keeping a watchful eye on it for the foreseeable future.
Just a slight change to its trajectory could send it hurtling into our planet, spelling doom for anyone near the impact zone.
Based on its size and speed, Nasa calculates the force of impact would be equivalent to 1,200,000 kilotons of kinetic energy.
For comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 exploded with the force of 15 kilotons of TNT.
It’s thought that an Apophis strike would decimate an area of thousands of square miles, leaving behind a 3.2-mile-wide crater.
Nasa spots and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground and space-based telescopes.
Asteroid Apophis
Here's when the asteroid could hit Earth, according to Nasa...
- Apr 12, 2060
- Apr 11, 2065
- Apr 12, 2068
- Oct 15, 2068
- Apr 13, 2076
- Apr 13, 2077
- Apr 13, 2078
- Oct 15, 2089
- Apr 13, 2091
- Apr 14, 2103
The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, also known as “Spaceguard,” discovers these objects and plots their orbits to determine if they pose a threat to our planet.
Apophis, which is named after the Ancient Egyptian God of Chaos, put space scientists on high alert following its discovery in 2004.
They calculated that the 1,200ft asteroid had a nearly 1-in-30 chance of hitting Earth in 2029, followed by a less likely chance of impact in 2036.
Both were later ruled out but Nasa has closely tracked the rock’s trajectory ever since.
According to the space agency, the rock weighs an astonishing 67million tons and is travelling at over 3.5 miles per second.
During its various orbits of the Sun, the rogue space rock is expected to make ten close passes to Earth between now and 2103.
These fall on April 2060, April 2065, April 2068, October 2068, April 2076, April 2077, April 2078, October 20189, April 2091 and April 2103.
Recently, Russian scientists warned that Apophis, full name Apophis 99942, could smash into Earth at speeds of 15,000 miles per hour.
They said the doomsday rock’s path around the Sun meant there were “100 possible collisions between Apophis and the Earth, the most dangerous of them in 2068”.
However, Nasa remains unconvinced.
“Current calculations show that Apophis still has a small chance of impacting Earth, less than 1 in 100,000 many decades from now,” said Nasa’s Dwayne Brown.
“Future measurements of its position can be expected to rule out any possible impacts.”
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
In April, Nasa boss Jim Bridenstine called for a global study to be urgently launched into the threat posed to humanity by a large asteroid collision.
And the Nasa administrator called for world powers to begin preparations for the impact of meteor events right away.
Mr Bridenstine said: “We have to make sure that people understand that this is not about Hollywood, it’s not about the movies.
“This is about ultimately protecting the only planet we know, right now, to host life and that is the planet Earth”
In other news, Nasa’s planet-hunting probe has joined the hunt for alien life.
Asteroids big enough to destroy cities hit Earth more often than we thought, scientists have warned.
And trillions of tiny alien ‘robot probes’ may be flying in space but are too small for Nasa to spot, a shock paper claims.
Do you ever worry about a giant asteroid hitting Earth? Let us know in the comments!
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