'God of Chaos' asteroid Apophis could still hit Earth in 2029, study hints -- but we won't know for 3 more years.

[Cattledog]

.webp

There is a slim but overlooked risk that the "God of Chaos" asteroid Apophis could hit Earth as it makes a super close approach to our planet in 2029, a new study reveals. The odds of such a calamitous collision are more than one-in-a-billion — but we won't be able to rule it out for at least three more years.

Apophis is a peanut-shaped space rock spanning around 1,100 feet (340 meters) across, or around the same size as the Eiffel Tower. At this size, the chunky space rock is not hefty enough to be considered a "planet killer" asteroid but is big enough to wipe out a large city and trigger planet-wide climatic effects. The "potentially hazardous" object was discovered in 2004 and was named after Apep, the Egyptian serpent god of darkness and disorder, which has earned it the nickname "God of Chaos."

Shortly after the space rock was discovered, astronomers revealed that Apophis would have an extremely close fly-by with Earth on April 13, 2029, sparking fears that it could hit our planet. However, follow-up observations revealed that the asteroid will sail safely past Earth at a distance of less than 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) — less than one-tenth the distance between Earth and the moon, according to NASA. This could still be close enough to hit some of our most distant Earth-orbiting satellites.

But large asteroids like Apophis can be nudged off course by impacts from smaller asteroids, similar to how NASA's DART mission successfully redirected the asteroid Dimorphos by smashing a spacecraft into it in 2022. Researchers have previously warned that this could be a possibility with Apophis over the next five years, potentially bumping the city-killer onto a collision course with Earth.

https://www.livescience.com/space/asteroids/new-study-reveals-god-of-chaos-asteroid-apophis-could-still-hit-earth-in-2029-but-we-won-t-find-out-for-3-more-years

[Think. Again.]

1. No problem...

...by 2029 our atmosphere will be so thick with CO2 the asteriod will just get stuck up there somewhere.

[keithbvadu2]

2. Bruce Willis on standby.

Only one large city? Well, that's statistics and they only count if it happens to you.

No biggie for most of us.

Climate effects? Politicians can negate that, on paper anyway.

[Metaphorical]

3. Even if Apophis hits

there's still about 2 chances in three that it will end up in the ocean. Now, this is not to say that it wouldn't be devastating (primarily due to earthquakes and tsunamis, but the chance of it hitting a populated area is comparatively small - about 1/20. If it did hit land, it would most likely hit in Siberia. The biggest climate effect would be the equivalent of a nuclear winter, probably followed by the resumption of an ice age. Humans would survive, but it's likely civilization will take a significant step backwards.