‘Zero chance’ infamous Apophis collides with another asteroid, redirects to Earth

When it was first found in 2004, Apophis was recognized as one of the harmful asteroids in that there was a danger that it might influence Earth. However that influence evaluation modified through the years after astronomers tracked Apophis, also called asteroid 99942, and its orbit turned higher decided, and it turned clear that it was on target to overlook our planet.

A brand new research led by Western astronomer Paul Wiegert posits what would occur if Apophis’ orbit modified after a collision with one other asteroid. Spoiler alert: it will not.

A near-Earth object (NEO), estimated to be about 335 meters throughout, Apophis is notorious for its upcoming shut passes to Earth, anticipated in 2029 and 2036. (It is anticipated to cross inside 37,399 kilometers on April 13, 2029 safely.)

Whereas scientists have lengthy since decided that the asteroid will miss the Earth safely on these events, Wiegert and collaborator Benjamin Hyatt from the College of Waterloo cautiously computed the paths of all 1.3 million recognized asteroids within the solar system to rule out the likelihood that Apophis might strike one other asteroid, redirecting its predicted path in direction of Earth.

“We calculated the paths of all recognized asteroids utilizing an in depth laptop simulation of our solar system and the potential of such an unlikely occasion was evaluated,” stated Wiegert, a physics & astronomy professor. “Thankfully, no such collisions are anticipated.”

The findings, accepted by Planetary Science Journal, are available on the arXiv preprint server now.

“Given how intently Apophis will cross Earth, there’s a potential danger {that a} deflection from its present trajectory might transfer Apophis nearer to impacting us,” stated Hyatt, an undergraduate student at Waterloo who assisted with this analysis over two summers. “Hypothetically, one other asteroid colliding with Apophis might trigger such a deflection, motivating us to check this state of affairs nonetheless unlikely it could be.”

Not-so-killer asteroid

The closest passages between recognized asteroids and Apophis have been recognized by Wiegert and Hyatt for future monitoring to take care of situational awareness and to refine their orbits, however the total danger of Apophis colliding with a recognized asteroid is all however zero.

“Asteroid Apophis has fascinated us as a species since its discovery in 2004: it was the primary credible menace from an asteroid to our planet,” stated Wiegert, a member of the Institute for Earth and House Exploration. “Even now that we all know it is on target to overlook us by a secure margin, astronomers stay vigilant. It is the asteroid we simply cannot cease watching.”

Apophis is known as for the demon serpent, who personified evil and chaos in historic Egyptian mythology.