{"id":212394,"date":"2021-03-26T20:09:10","date_gmt":"2021-03-26T17:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/earth-is-safe-from-asteroid-apophis-for-100-plus-years\/"},"modified":"2021-03-26T20:09:10","modified_gmt":"2021-03-26T17:09:10","slug":"earth-is-safe-from-asteroid-apophis-for-100-plus-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/earth-is-safe-from-asteroid-apophis-for-100-plus-years\/","title":{"rendered":"#Earth is safe from asteroid Apophis for 100-plus years"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Earth is safe from asteroid Apophis for 100-plus years<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"NASA
\n These images of asteroid Apophis were recorded by radio antennas at the Deep Space Network\u2019s Goldstone complex in California and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The asteroid was 10.6 million miles (17 million kilometers) away, and each pixel has a resolution of 127 feet (38.75 meters). Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech and NSF\/AUI\/GBO
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The near-Earth object was thought to pose a slight risk of impacting Earth in 2068, but now radar observations have ruled that out.<\/p>\n


\n <\/section>\n

After its discovery in 2004, asteroid 99942 Apophis had been identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth. But that impact assessment changed as astronomers tracked Apophis and its orbit became better determined.<\/p>\n

Now, the results from a new radar observation campaign combined with precise orbit analysis have helped astronomers conclude that there is no risk of Apophis impacting our planet for at least a century.<\/p>\n

Estimated to be about 1,100 feet (340 meters) across, Apophis quickly gained notoriety as an asteroid that could pose a serious threat to Earth when astronomers predicted that it would come uncomfortably close in 2029. Thanks to additional observations of the near-Earth object (NEO), the risk of an impact in 2029 was later ruled out, as was the potential impact risk posed by another close app<\/a>roach in 2036. Until this month, however, a small chance of impact in 2068 still remained.<\/p>\n

When Apophis made a distant flyby of Earth around March 5, astronomers took the opportunity to use powerful radar observations to refine the estimate of its orbit around the Sun with extreme precision, enabling them to confidently rule out any impact risk in 2068 and long after.<\/p>\n

“A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years,” said Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), which is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “With the support of recent optical observations and additional radar observations, the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit has collapsed from hundreds of kilometers to just a handful of kilometers when projected to 2029. This greatly improved knowledge of its position in 2029 provides more certainty of its future motion, so we can now remove Apophis from the risk list.”<\/p>\n

Farnocchia was referring to the Sentry Impact Risk Table. Maintained by CNEOS, the table keeps tabs on the few asteroids whose orbits take them so close to Earth that an impact can’t be ruled out. With the recent findings, the Risk Table no longer includes Apophis.<\/p>\n

Relying on optical telescopes and ground-based radar to help characterize every known near-Earth object’s orbit to improve long-term hazard assessments, CNEOS computes high-precision orbits in support of NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office.<\/p>\n


\n