Ryan Flanagan
CTV News California Writer
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The asteroid Apophis was imaged in three wavelengths from an array camera and spectrometer aboard the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory on January 5 and 6, 2013 (ESA / Herschel / PACS / MACH-11 / MPE / ESAC)
Toronto –
Scientists are tracking an asteroid accelerating as it passes through our solar system, and warn that it may hit Earth within the next 50 years
The asteroid Apophis – appropriately named for the Egyptian god of chaos – was first discovered in 2004. At that time, astronomers estimated there was a 2 7 percent chance that it would hit Earth in 2036
This is no longer thought to be the case, but new research suggests there is less chance of an asteroid hitting our planet at a later time.
« The 2068 impact scenario is still in play, » David Thulin said at a conference of the American Astronomical Society
Thulin, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii, told the conference that Apophis’s observations earlier this year revealed signs of Yarkovsky acceleration – a process by which asteroids obtain a « small boost » of the heat they radiate, changing their speed and course.
It will be nearly another decade before astronomers can better visualize where exactly Apophis will travel in 2068.
These clues will come close soon in 2029 – “on all dates, Friday April 13th,” Tholen said, it will be visible to the naked eye, shining like a star in the Big Dipper
On that day, the asteroid is expected to approach our planet like communication satellites. The exact distance will determine whether its path will take it to our planet in 39 years.
« We will then know exactly where it will occur as it passes the Earth, » Tholin said. « This will make it easier for us to predict your impact scenarios. »
« If it passes at a perfectly appropriate distance from the Earth, the Earth’s gravity will change the orbit enough to return it and hit the Earth in [2068] »
When an asteroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it turns into a meteor. When it falls to Earth, it becomes a meteorite
Meteorites are such a common occurrence that some of them are very close to our planet without being detected most of the time. They are small. Not the case with Apophis
According to NASA, the Earth collides with a falling cosmic body the size of a football field about once every 2000 years The size of Apophis is three times that size, and its diameter is 323 meters as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall
NASA says that if Apophis collides with Earth and remains mostly intact when it falls to Earth, its size could cause significant local damage.However, it is not large enough to cause global disaster, as did the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The possibility of a collision, however, does exist – meaning that astronomers will eagerly await the 2029 flight, eager to gather as much information as possible.
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99942 Apophis, Earth, Asteroid, Yarkovsky Effect
World News – California – An asteroid named after the Egyptian Chaos may be a deity on a collision course with Earth
