Apophis, the asteroid that threatens the Earth: that’s when it could hit it

ROMA – Not just the Coronavirus, threatening the Earth is theasteroide Apophis. Discovered in 2004, could hit us in the 2068. Although the probability of hitting the earth is 1 in 150 thousand, scientists keep the attention high. Apophis, meanwhile, is expected to pass 31,000 km from Earth in 2029 and it would be the closest approach to Earth ever predicted for an asteroid of this size. An unmissable opportunity therefore to study it “more closely” and learn more about shape, rotation and size. The impact on the earth’s soil, however, could only be postponed. Second David Tholen of the University of Hawaii the danger moves to 2068, when a further close passage of the asteroid to the Earth is expected with a probability of impact around 1 in 150 thousand: “The scenario of an impact in 2068 is still in play, the risk is ‘small’, but different from zero”.

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Here are the effects of its impact on Earth

So far, and in the absence of many studies, Apophis is known to be an asteroid 300 meters long and that its shape is elliptical. In the event of an impact against the Earth, the effects would be devastating: the collision would be 3,800 times more powerful than the explosion of the bomb atomic of Hiroshima, which would be equivalent to 1,150 megatons of TNT (trinitrotoluene). Studying its characteristics in more detail is therefore fundamental and in this regard, an important opportunity could happen to March 2021, when it is expected to pass 16.9 million km from Earth. Not really close, but according to experts it can be seen through telescopes.

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