There are these giant rocks flying out there, and they're hitting us, and they're doing damage to
us, it's a part of history, and it's a reminder that if you want to think about the future
of civilization you have to include a defense plan against asteroids this is a destiny
4.6 billion years in the making what do you think the dinosaurs would have done if they knew
six years prior that an asteroid was coming for the earth to seal their fate well frankly nothing,
but fortunately we're a tad bit more prepared the scary story of an asteroid killing the dinosaurs
is well known, but it's also well known that asteroid hits are fairly common on earth with
most disintegrating in the atmosphere before ever touching the earth's surface but then again
the universe hasn't been throwing life-ending boulders at us every day apophis could be one
such catastrophic paradigm-shifting event if it manages to make contact initial reports claim that
the probability of it hitting earth is extremely low but then again how close is too close
there might be some things that nasa just isn't telling us welcome to fact nominal
and today we take a look at what our chances really are against asteroid Apophis in 2029
asteroids are believed to be the remnants of the early formation of the solar system
these planetary leftovers or minor planets have no atmosphere of their own but they do
in fact orbit the sun they're of course not to be confused with the meteors which are the
tiny pebble-sized things that enter the earth's atmosphere and burn up
or if they make it to the earth's surface are called meteorites most of the known asteroids
in our solar system can be found in the region between Mars and Jupiter the asteroid belt however
not all asteroids like to hang around there with some preferring to venture
out into other locations around the solar system for example some asteroids like to
orbit the sun in a path that brings them closer and closer to our home planet sure it's all fun
and games when it comes to these floating space rocks that is until they get too close to Earth
the international space agencies including the European Space Agency and NASA are involved in
a cover-up of the potential for Apophis to strike the earth Friday the 13th April 2029,
so I believe that in nine years from now it is more likely than not that Apophis is going to make
impact uh on the earth as far as astronomers know there are currently 27,000 asteroids in
near-earth orbits right now and these are only the ones that we know of these asteroids were likely
knocked out of the main asteroid belt attracted by the gravity of the neighboring planets bringing
them within a distance of around 4.6 million miles or seven and a half million kilometers of
the earth's orbit around the sun as far away as that sounds don't get too comfortable just, yet
asteroids vary in size from as tiny as six feet in diameter like the oldest ever found 2015 tc25
or as humongous as Ceres, the now reclassified dwarf planet that's equal to about one
quarter the size of our moon many asteroids have hit earth in the past and more expected to crash
into our planet in the future this is what makes 99942 Apophis such an object of interest as it
has been fated to hit planet earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. Looks like asteroid Apophis
might soon be stealing Jason's thunder, making it yet another Friday the 13th for us to worry about
On the evening of June 19, 2004 astronomers at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson
Arizona discovered Apophis the team consisted of astronomers Dave Tholen, Fabrizio Bernardo and Roy
tucker they were searching for asteroids low in the western sky you know just everyday astronomer
things they stumbled upon the asteroid and found it to be positioned unusually closer to the sun
than your average asteroid this of course piqued their interest, and they quickly discovered how
different it was compared to what they were normally used to calculations later revealed
that the asteroid had a solid chance of hitting earth in April 2029 on Friday the 13th and almost
immediately Apophis named after the Egyptian god of Destruction was moved to the top of the
list of potentially hazardous asteroids quite the achievement for Apophis the asteroid now
garnering worldwide attention and along with it widespread media frenzy speculation
and conspiracy theories claiming it will bring the end of the world as we know it
ever since its discovery the notorious asteroid Apophis has been a cause for concern among
scientists and astronomers the main cause of concern not only is it extremely close to earth
it's also incredibly big the asteroid measures in at 370 meters or 1200 feet wide that's nearly
four times larger than NASA's Artemis one rocket the thought of an asteroid of this size coming
as close as 20,000 miles to earth has scientists concerned but if it's not directly hitting earth
why even bother well the problem lies in the fact that an asteroid passing at such a close distance
can easily be attracted towards the earth due to gravity many asteroids have entered
the earth's atmosphere in the same manner but have had little to no effect but when you have
an asteroid of this size it's reasonable to be worried an asteroid weighing nearly 20 million
tons passing by really close to earth yeah that's definitely something to be watching out for
if an asteroid that size were to ever hit planet earth the results could be catastrophic studies
show that if the asteroid hit us it could cause widespread destruction several hundreds
of kilometers from the site of impact the energy released would be equal to more than one thousand
megatons of TNT equivalent to hundreds of nuclear weapons in short absolute devastation despite the
fact that several researchers and NASA themselves have claimed that we don't need to be worried,
and that Apophis will simply serve as space eye candy as it passes bias in 2029 it does seem like
there's more at play here NASA's Osiris-rex after delivering extraterrestrial samples to earth in
2023 will embark on an extended mission to this planet-threatening space rock if there's truly
only a 2.7 percent chance that the asteroid might hit planet earth then why is the agency showing
so much interest in it the announcement of the extended mission sure does raise a few eyebrows,
and we can only hope to see what they're able to unravel about the great Apophis
Ever since the initial frenzy that the possible collision in 2029 could destroy earth came out,
scientists and research teams along with space agencies like NASA and the ESA have
been working tirelessly to study and gain more accurate information about the exact location
and positioning of the asteroid in order to make more accurate predictions they've since ruled out
the possibility of a collision in 2029 and even all the way up to the year 2036 though some say
that it will have an even closer encounter with earth in 2068. David Farnocky of the
jet propulsion laboratory stated when i started working with asteroids after college Apophis was
the poster child for hazardous asteroids with the sport of optical observations and additional radar
observations the uncertainty of Apophis orbit has collapsed from hundreds of kilometers to just a
handful of kilometers NASA has since stated that there's no reason to believe that Apophis will
be colliding with earth anytime soon or at least for another hundred years as far as they predict
but then again predictions can be wrong even with a low probability of it hitting the earth it will
pass by very, very close to us if you happen to find yourself in the eastern hemisphere especially
in countries like India or china you'll be able to watch it zoom past in the sky with your naked eye
also in parts of europe australia and africa you'll be able to catch a glimpse of this
spectacular event so for now it seems like we must take nasa's word for it that humanity won't be
ending because of apophis in seven years time but come 2068 there's no telling how much its
orbit will change and it could head straight for the earth for the next few decades all eyes will
continue to be on apophis and it will remain as one of the most notorious asteroids to watch
out for so what are your thoughts will apophis hit earth in 2029 or 2068 and just how bad will
the damage be let us know in the comments don't forget to smash that like button and subscribe to
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