Skywatch Media News for October the 11th 2019 NASA has begun preparations for the
arrival of a colossal asteroid Apophis which will skim the earth in a short 10
years time the asteroid dubbed god of chaos measures 340 meters across roughly
the height of the Empire State Building in New York City its anticipated arrival
in 2029 will bring it within a minuscule 19,000 miles of the earth making its
passage extremely dangerous the asteroid will pass even closer than the
communication and weather satellites that orbit the earth at a distance of
approximately 23,000 miles astronomers and Space Agency officials are very
worried about Apophis the giant space rock is traveling at a speed of 25,000
miles per hour so even the slightest deflection from its observed trajectory
could be consequential to our planets survival the asteroid's size and proximity
to the earth has resulted in it being categorized as a hazardous asteroid and
scientists are keen to learn as much as they possibly can about this huge space
rock which is now barreling down on planet Earth
NASA knows that when the asteroid flies dangerously close in the year 2029 its
orbit trajectory could very well change and that this massive rock could collide
with the earth on its next approach in the year 2036 as the rock approaches our
planet picking up speed it will shine bright in our sky it will be traveling
at such tremendous speed that it will cross the entire width of the moon in 60
seconds becoming among the brightest of stars in the night sky
although the close encounter of Apophis will change its trajectory
NASA insists that there is only a 1 in 100,000 chance that the rock will
collide with the earth in the year 2036 but even with these optimistic
projections present models suggest that the rocks extremely close approach could
change the spinning motion of the asteroid which could result in surface
changes to the earth such as large cracks and fissures as well as
avalanches like many other near earth observations the path of the asteroid
upon its closed approach in April of 2029 has been estimated by scientists
according to computer models the asteroid will be visible to the naked
eye as it approaches in the night sky over the southern hemisphere commencing
to travel from east to west across Australia it will then cross the Indian
Ocean before crossing the equator and moving west above Africa at its closest
approach Apophis will be over the Atlantic Ocean moving so fast that it
will transverse the Atlantic in just one hour Apophis is but one of nearly 2,000
asteroids that have been labeled as potentially dangerous the information
pertaining to its passage is based on the data published by the National Space
Agency but there is another source of information presented to the public that
paints an entirely different portrait of the dangers associated with Apophis and
is perceived path according to Michael horn a space science investigator and
UFO researcher Apophis will hit earth it will hit either on this go-around or the
next one in coordination with a team of scientists his research indicates that
the asteroid will eventually impact earth between the north and the Black
Sea not far from the United Kingdom
his descriptive analogy describes what will take place when the asteroid
actually hits upon impact the asteroid will crack the Earth's crust huge pieces
of the earth itself will break off and it will be hurtled back into space when
the rock enters into the Earth's atmosphere tremendous heat will commence
to spread across the planet this will produce a global effect as a result of a
direct impact massive amounts of methane gas will be released from the oceans and
the skies will begin to darken leading to a nuclear winter type phenomenon as
would be expected a giant object approaching earth and approaching at
tremendous speeds while glowing hot as it enters our atmosphere would certainly
result in consequential complications for the earth and its inhabitants now no
one would desire such a scenario to play out as we know life on planet Earth is
very precious but if an asteroid the likes of Apophis were to impact the
planet regardless of where it might strike it would have the potential of
being devastating and this is something that every one of us has to consider
every time we hear NASA speak out about potentially hazardous near-earth objects
because much can change when a large rock hits the Earth many asteroids are
located between Jupiter and Mars and on numerous occasions some have come
dangerously close to our planet as was the case with asteroid 2012 DA14 which
came within 17,000 miles of our planet in February of 2013 this asteroid was
small compared to others measuring 150 feet across with a mass of 130 metric
tons which places this asteroid in the same realm as the Tunguska comet of 1908
the probability of a large one striking us today is quite remote but as we
already know it is not impossible and the approaching Apophis reminds us of
that reality comets associated with the Taurid complex approach the Earth from
a close distance every century or there abouts so it's entirely possible for a
large asteroid or comet to fall to earth in the foreseeable future evidence
indicates that a large meteorite hit the earth as recently as twelve thousand
eight hundred years ago with widespread consequences for life on the planet
which suggests that the probability of an impact in our future does exist a
very large asteroid measuring 460 feet skimmed past the earth minutes after
midnight on October the 11th traveling at nearly 49,000 miles per hour a speedy
asteroid dubbed a 2019 SX5 crossed Earth's orbit on a close approach
trajectory this asteroid was first spotted flying through the inner solar
system on September the 6th the space rock is categorized as a near-earth
object the asteroid's size is at the upper echelon of known NEO's comparable to
the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt 7 and 1/2 London sized buses could fit
inside of this asteroid it's important to understand that space rocks this
large have the potential of wiping out entire regions on earth NEO's greater
than 140 metres which is equivalent to 459 feet could inflict severe damage to
continents across the globe this is a troubling indicator because according to
the data collected by Caltech space program of the more than
20,000 near-earth objects that have been discovered there are nearly 8000 of them
that fall into this size category objects comparable to 2019 SX5 could
strike earth with a minimum energy of 690 megatons of TNT which is greater
than the most powerful nuclear devices that have ever been detonated on this
planet the space rock will continue on its journey making a close approach of
Venus before visiting us once again in September of 2025 in times of
uncertainty we often look towards the sky to help ease our mind and our soul
the sky is our garden it is the poetry of nature it is what uplifts the spirit
within us we travel through the clouds of time for it is our home it is where
we came from and it is from whence we shall return thanks for watching