Asteroid Apophis is speeding up as scientists recalculate odds of 2068 impact

Jul 27, 2020
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This is clearly big enough to worry about.

It is capable of doing some serious damage, since Apophis has an estimated mass of about 6 x 10^10 kg (1).

To get an idea about the possible results of an impact from this object (quoting from (1) :

"The Sentry Risk Table estimates that Apophis would impact Earth with kinetic energy equivalent to 1,200 megatons of TNT.[4] The impacts that created Meteor Crater, Arizona about 50,000 years ago and the Tunguska event of 1908 are estimated to be between 3–10 megatons.[63] The biggest hydrogen bomb ever exploded, the Tsar Bomba, was around 57 megatons while the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa was the equivalent of roughly 200 megatons. In comparison, the Chicxulub impact has been estimated to have released about as much energy as 100,000,000 megatons (100 teratons). "

end quote

Clearly there is enough time to do something about it. However, in 2068, one has to wonder what kind of shape the world will be in with the current conditions and directions of things. Might not be worth bothering with........By then, an impact might even be an advantage, in the grand scheme of things!


1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophis_asteroid
 
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