RIAU24.COM – An asteroid the size of the Eiffel Tower and named after the god of chaos, Apophis, is heading towards Earth. Scientists at Russia has projected that the asteroid Apophis will glide past Earth in April 2029 in what could be the planet’s closest encounter with a rock of its size.
Apophis will come within 39,000 km (24,000 miles) of Earth’s surface – close to the distance at which satellite television operates – according to estimates by Russia’s emergency ministry, the Sputnik news agency reported.
That is in line with previous calculations by the US space agency NASA, which in March ruled out Apophis hitting Earth in 2068 and was expected to miss it less than 32,000 km within seven years. Measuring about 340 meters (1,115 ft) in diameter, Apophis – named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos – was described by NASA as “one of the most dangerous asteroids that could impact Earth” after astronomers at a US observatory detected its presence in 2004.
Scientists in Hong Kong say it is highly unlikely that the rock will hit a Chinese or international satellite or space station in low-Earth orbit in 2029, although its path will be clearer as time approaches. “The closest predicted approach distance out in the satellite-inhabited region [TV], but the probability of an impact with any satellite there is very small given its relative size and velocity compared to the volume of space,” said Quentin Parker, head of the Laboratory for Space Research at the University of Hong Kong.
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“International Space Station and Tiangong space station [China] is in a much lower Earth orbit less than 500 km [310 mil] and again the risk is very small.”
Earth will still have its closest encounter with an asteroid of that scale, Parker said. “Apophis will pass 10 times closer than the moon and only about five times the radius of Earth,” he said.
“We have about 500 geostationary satellites farther from where this object will be on its closest approach, so it is considered the closest asteroid of its size in recorded history.”
Lee Man Hoi, a planetary dynamics expert who heads the department of earth sciences at HKU, said that on average an asteroid of this size “is expected to hit Earth once in about 100,000 years”.
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“It’s possible that the asteroid will hit [satelit] in 2029 is very low, “he said.
NASA removed the rock from its risk list after its calculations in March and said the Apophis approach would be an extraordinary opportunity for astronomers to observe “solar system relics” up close.
Russian ministry researchers estimate that if the asteroid hit Earth, it would release 1,717 megatons of energy. That would be 30 times the power of the Soviet Tsar Bomba tested in 1961, the largest nuclear bomb ever detonated. Such an impact would cause a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in a 10 km radius, with wind speeds of at least 790 meters per second, according to Sputnik. In comparison, a hurricane with wind speeds of around 90 meters per second would be able to sweep away well-built houses.
Parker, of HKU, points to the Tunguska event in Russia in 1908, which had the largest impact on Earth by a celestial body in modern history. “It was only about 60 meters in diameter, and a 12 megaton explosion that still flattened 2,150 sq km [830 mil persegi] Siberian forests,” he said, adding that the damage from any impact by Apophis “would be considerable either on land or at sea – think tsunamis”.
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