Apophis 2036

Apophis 2036 has caused quite a stir in the astronomy community. It might be better to give you a little history of the Apophis asteroid first so that you have as much information as possible. In 2004 the asteroid Apophis was given as 2.7% chance of impacting the Earth. That in and of itself is not a major concern, but the size of Apophis, 270 m and a mass of 2.1 x 10¹⁰ kg, caused concern for everyone involved with the asteroid. Even a small chance of an asteroid that size impacting the Earth is a reason to study the living daylights out of an it. It was eventually found to be of no threat in 2004 or its next pass in 2029, but what about the pass in 2036?

Apophis 2036, also known as the 2036 meteor, is still something that scientists are a little nervous about because of the chance it may hit a gravitational keyhole in 2029. The gravitational keyhole, which is generated by the Earth, could effect the trajectory and orbit of Apophis enough to make the pass in 2036 actually closer to Earth and put it on a definite impact course with the planet. Many scientists downplay the possibility, but the chances are real. This asteroid will return every seven years until it hits something in space.

The threat from 2036 Apophis is real enough that some scientists have proposed that it be nudged out of its present orbit so that it will miss the keyhole. According to NASA scientist David Morrison” after 2029, the deflection would have to be vigorous enough to miss not just a tiny keyhole but the much larger target of the Earth itself and such a deflection is far beyond present technology for an asteroid this large.”

The 2036 asteroid is shaping up to be a pivotal stressor on the ability of NASA and the astronomy community to protect the Earth from impending impact. Will science be able to prevent the possible deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the devastation that a large impactor would create? I guess we will have to wait and see.

Wikipedia offers a nice article on gravitational keyholes and NASA shows some news about a possible impact on their website. Here on Universe Today there is a great article on the asteroid Apophis as well as a description of exactly how big Apophis 2036 is.

Reference:
NASA

Tagged as: Apophis, Apophis 2036