NASA scientists announced, in 2004, that there was a chance of an asteroid, Apophis, hitting the Earth in year 2029. Apophis is an asteroid, with diameter larger than 270 meters, which makes it larger than two football fields. Some observations later dismissed the chance of Apophis smashing the Earth in 2029.
Recently, Russian scientists estimated Apophis’s collision with Earth will take place in April 2036. The reports from Russian scientists conflict about the probability of Apophis hitting the Earth as NASA has dismissed the report and said the chances are almost zilch.
The 900 foot long asteroid, Apophis, has caught scientists’ attention for quite some time now. Apophis has been in news in 2004, previously, and now it is back in news after the reports from Russian scientists have been surfaced. NASA recognizes the chance of this happening but declares it as far from prbable. NASA’s head for Near-Earth Object Program estimated these odds to be 1 in 250,000.
NASA keeps a backup plan in case the smashing is likely and on other hand Russian scientists are placing bets on if Apophis will disintegrate before hitting the Earth. NASA has a plan to construct the equipment, if the chances of collision increase, that will change the asteroid, Apophis’ orbit. Although the chances are slim but scientific community still wants to work on Earth protection strategies.
NASA also estimates of a more likely scenario, i.e. Apophis will draw close to Earth in late 2012 or early 2013. It is guessed that the phenomenon will be extensively observed through optical telescopes and radars. Scientists believe that would be the time to observe and decide if it is heading on a destructive path and they will devise scheme to change the orbit of Apophis to diminish the chance of Apophis the Earth hitting in 2036.
Russian scientists think the asteroid, Apophis, will travel through the gravitational keyhole in 2029 when it will be passing by the Earth. The gravitational keyhole is a region in space which is slightly larger than Apophis. In this region Earth’s gravity can pull the Apophis and affect its path after which it might start traveling towards Earth. This region extends across southern Russia, across the north Pacific; close to the coastlines of California and Mexico. It crosses northern Colombia and Venezuela and passes right between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The region ends in the Atlantic, just before reaching Africa.
In an initial estimate from NASA, it was estimated the energy released by the Apophis if it struck the Earth would be an equivalent of 510 megatons of TNT. One of the way to change Apophis’ orbit is by sending a spacecraft which would run into the asteroid. This technology was previously used, when a craft named Deep Impact was made to run into a comet Tempel 1 in year 2005.
