In 2004, researchers discovered the asteroid Apophis. Because this has now changed its trajectory, the earth could face a collision in a few years.
Honolulu – Already in 2004 the fear of the asteroid called Aphosis was huge. It was the year of its discovery – and 17 years later it should keep international astronomers on their toes. Its name is no coincidence: the chunk of space is named after the Egyptian god of chaos. At first, experts considered it unlikely that his path could cross with the earth within the next hundred years. But now the asteroid’s trajectory has suddenly changed – and the danger now seems greater than ever.
| Asteroid: | Apophis |
| Radius: | 185 m |
| Dimensions: | 2.699 × 10 ^ 10 kg |
| Date of discovery: | June 19, 2004 |
Asteroid Aphosis: Researchers expect the collision with Earth in 2068
The 370-meter-tall Brocken continues to make its way. While researchers had initially ruled out a collision of the asteroid Aphosis with the earth, the danger from space now seems immediate. The supposedly unstoppable asteroid has changed its career and could wreak havoc on earth in 47 years.
“Our observations show that the asteroid is drifting away from its purely gravitational orbit,” recently observed the American astronomer Dave Tholen. The expert is part of the University of Hawaii research team who discovered Aphosis in 2004. According to the expert, the likelihood of a collision with Earth in 2068 does not seem to be excluded. Whether a joint asteroid rescue plan by NASA and Esa * can avert the horror scenario is currently still questionable.
“Jarkowski effect” favors the asteroid course change
At the beginning of the year, the researcher Alan Harris spoke of a 100 percent probability that an asteroid could collide with the earth *. So it could be so far in 47 years. The reason for the sudden change of course of the dangerous chunk is identified by researchers on the basis of the so-called “Jarkowski effect”.
The asteroid is said to be exposed to uneven solar radiation. As a result, one side of the celestial body is warmer than the other. Because the warmer side of the asteroid now sends more infrared radiation into space, the warmer side experiences a stronger recoil. The force that acts on the asteroid is small, but leads to such a development, as is the case with the asteroid aphosis. Over time, the forces have added up to such an extent that researchers are now assuming an annual course deviation of around 170 meters.
Asteroid Aphosis impact on Earth would be 18 times stronger than largest nuclear explosion
According to calculations, the asteroid will approach Earth on April 13, 2029. The fact that it has a speed of around 25,000 km per hour already shows why researchers Nasa are very concerned about asteroids *. Should it come close to the earth in eight years, it will already be visible to the naked eye. According to experts, however, it would not pose a threat to the earth in 2029.
In contrast to the year 2068. Then the chunk from space could come back close to Earth – and then, if its trajectory does not change again by then, hit. In the event of a potential collision, the asteroid would cause immense damage. An impact with the earth would be roughly an 18-fold multiplication of the largest human-made nuclear explosion. Experts are certain that the aphosis would release around 900 megatons of energy in the event of a collision.
A dangerous celestial body like the asteroid, which wiped out the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago *, is currently not suspected. However, it is already undisputed that the asteroid aphosis also has the potential to endanger the earth enormously. * 24hamburg.de, hna.de, tz.de and fr.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Picture list: © IMAGO / Panthermedia
