News Mania Desk/ Sohom Chatterjee / 7th September 2024
99942 Apophis, also known as the ‘God of Chaos’, might be crashing into Earth despite earlier reports suggesting that it might just pass by. According to a new study by Canadian astronomer Paul Wiegert, the giant asteroid might enter Earth’s atmosphere and land on the surface with severe impact that can do major harm even if a “small object” crashes into it.
As the threat of the ‘God of Chaos’ crashing into our planet has resurfaced, the anticipation is that it might crash on the dreaded Friday 13th – April 13, 2029. The comet was discovered in 2004 and was thought of as mildly lethal as anticipated to come closest to the Earth by 2036.
However, Wiegert’s new findings have generated a new fear. The Daily Star quoted his scientific explanation earlier this week: “The odds of an unseen small asteroid deflecting Apophis enough to direct it into a collision with Earth in 2029 (d ≳ 3.4 m, Δv > 5 × 10−2 m s−1) are approximately 10−8.” But, he also mentioned that the chances of the ‘God of Chaos’ crashing into the Earth is less than one in two billion.
“Given that only 5% of such impulses are in the correct direction to generate an Earth impact, the overall probability of a small impact directing Apophis into a collision with the Earth is less than one in two billion,” Wiegert said. The ‘God of Chaos’ Apophis has been “largely unmonitored by telescopes since May 2021 and will remain so through 2027,” he added. The reason behind it is “the relative geometry of Apophis, Earth, and the Sun, which puts the asteroid in the daytime sky for the time span in question.”
