During the last week, some media have warned us of an asteroid that “could cause an impact 15,000 times higher than that of the Hiroshima bomb.” On the back of NASA, he has been called ‘God of Chaos’ and a possible clash with the Earth is estimated in 2029.
This is asteroid 99942 Apophis. This ‘God of Chaos’ measures 340 meters in length and will pass at a distance of 30,500 kilometers. So why is it considered that it will ‘touch’ the Earth and even that it could impact it? The NASA clarifies the picture.
Since Apophis will be almost 12 times closer to Earth than the Moon and some of our communication satellites, this asteroid is considered by NASA as “potentially dangerous.” In addition, an eventual impact of Apophis would be devastating for the Earth, that is undoubted.
However, NASA has reported that no space rock has been recorded that involves a significant risk to the Earth in the next 100 years, since the chances of the ‘God of Chaos‘ impacting the Earth are 1 in 100,000.
Since 2004, when the asteroid Apophis was discovered, NASA and the European Space Agency monitor it to be able to take measures that would avoid a crash if necessary, although they do the same procedure with all asteroids that have an orbit close to the earth.
It is true that there is little chance that the ‘God of Chaos’ will destroy us, but the fact that it passes close to our planet excites scientists, who see its ‘arrival’ as an opportunity to study a space rock of considerable magnitude. It should even excite astronomy fans, as we will see it from Earth.
An impact with a power 15,000 times greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb has been estimated for this asteroid.
Source: Larepublica
