the disasterSince the film’s release, hardly a year has passed without news of an asteroid that could threaten Earth, including the future of humanity. However, the currently living portion of the population has probably never felt the apocalypse on their skin as it does now.
Scientists have been paying attention to this for years, and in 2006 we also published a report on it. 99942 Apophis Around an asteroid named
In the past, there were serious concerns about the calculations, including those that described its impact with Earth as a real possibility, but in recent months it has repeatedly seemed that even if it passed very close, we might escape the collision with Earth. Asteroid – writes A Watchman.
After its discovery in 2004, Apophis kept scientists awake at night, as they feared it might collide with Earth. NASA initially ruled out the possibility, so no impact is expected in 2029 or 2036, but in 2021 experts believe that such an event will occur in the next 100 years.
Scientists are already on edge, watching the asteroid with bated breath.
Now, in addition to keeping us alive, researchers hope to closely examine 99942 Apophis as it approaches Earth. Thanks to this encounter, they are confident they can prepare for a possible future impact.
the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced that it is funding preparations for the Rapid Security Apophis (RAMES) mission, which will send a spacecraft to the asteroid to collect information about the asteroid's size, shape, mass and rotation as it passes Earth.
However, Ramses' main mission is to analyze the asteroid as it approaches Earth closer than GPS and TV satellites.
The mission will shed light on the composition and internal structure of the asteroid Apophis, as well as its orbit, and reveal how the asteroid will change when it passes within 32,000 kilometers of Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.
Of course, because of Friday the 13th, superstitious people probably won't have any serious hopes of avoiding the collision, and researchers believe that based on current data, it's impossible for the asteroid to hit Earth.
It is also particularly important to monitor because there is a good chance that it will take thousands of years for the asteroid to come close to Earth again, said Dr. Holger Krag, head of the European Space Agency's Space Safety Programme Office. We will be able to see the sky with the naked eye on a clear day.
(Cover photo: Juan Gartner/Getty Images Hungary)
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