Asteroid Apophis: 2029 Close Call Sparks Concerns Over Earth’s Safety

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – Astronomers believe that a large asteroid could hit Earth in 2029. Asteroid Named Apophis, it will pass within a distance of 30,600 kilometers from Earth.

Asteroid Apophis It is estimated to be the size of two 100-story buildings. Launching the NASA page, Friday (20/09/2024), the asteroid Apophis has a bean-like shape that can be said to be very old.

It was formed from the remnants of matter that formed our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The average diameter of Apophis is about 340 meters.

Currently, the asteroid is moving at a speed of 29.98 km/second to complete its orbit towards the Sun. It takes at least 324 days for Apophis to complete its orbital path.

Apophis is not the only steroid that is dangerous to the earth. NASA operates an asteroid monitoring system called NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). CNEOS is responsible for long-term analysis of the possible orbits of asteroids that could be dangerous to Earth in the future.

Here are five A dangerous asteroid for the earth

1. Confirm

Bennu was officially named 101955 Bennu (1999 RQ36) which was discovered in September 1999. The Bennu asteroid is expected to be the biggest threat to Earth.

However, Bennu’s victory will not happen for some time. NASA scientists calculated Bennu’s approach to Earth on September 24, 2182.

There is at least a 0.037 percent chance or a 1 in 2,700 chance that the asteroid will hit Earth. If Bennu were to hit Earth, it would release energy equivalent to the explosion of 1.4 billion tons of TNT.

This disaster will cause damage, but it does not have the potential to cause global destruction. Scientists are learning all they can about this carbon-rich asteroid.

This asteroid is believed to have separated from a larger asteroid between 2 billion and 700 million years ago.

2. 1979 XB

Based on the understanding of CNEOS scientists, the asteroid was first observed on December 11, 1979. 1979 XB had a 0.000055 percent or 1 in 1.8 million chance of hitting Earth on December 14, 2113.

Such an accident would produce the same energy as the explosion of 30 billion tons of TNT. However, 1979 XB has not been seen for about 40 years so its orbit is not well understood.

3. 29075

The next most dangerous asteroid for Earth is asteroid 29075 (1950 AD). It disappeared after it was first discovered in February 1950 and was rediscovered 50 years later.

The 1950 AD asteroid is believed to have formed from loose debris with a high iron-nickel content. Currently, 1950 DA has a 0.0029 percent or 1 in 34,500 chance of hitting Earth on March 16, 2880.

If 1950 DA hit the earth, the energy produced would be equal to 75 billion tons of TNT. This is enough to trigger a global catastrophe that has the potential to wipe out humanity.