A large meteorite is about to cause earth

If astronomers' calculations are correct, Friday April 13, 2029 may be a very unlucky day for the Earth, because a giant meteorite will crash into a green planet. Very little time to choose a solution to handle it.

At the last conference on near-earth objects in London (UK), scientists said, there is little time to make a decision. The giant meteorite named Apophis, the name of the dark god and destruction in Egyptian mythology, is moving towards Earth.

Weighing 25 million tons, 300-400 meters wide, this meteorite will slip into the Moon's orbit and face the Earth at a rate of over 44,800 km / h at about 1136 (Hanoi time) April 13 2029.

(Photo: ufodigest) Scientists are convinced with 99.7% accuracy that this sky rock carries an energy source of 58,000-65,000 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and it will be about 30,800 from Earth - 32,128 km. The distance is 2-3 times the diameter of the Earth but shorter than the flight from Melbourne (Australia) to New York (USA). With that position, it will go into the orbit of many satellites that orbiting the Earth and are most concerned that it is certainly affected by Earth gravity.

The problem is hotly debated, how and where gravity Earth will affect its orbit, whether that impact is strong enough to make it change paths and crash into our planet or not.

Despite the best situation, Apophis did not plunge into the Earth that day, the people of Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia could still see objects like a star moving slowly. West. And Apophis will be the first meteorite in human history to be seen with the naked eye.

If the worst case scenario occurs, Apophis falls on Earth, it will destroy a nation and cause a 256-meter tsunami . It is even calculated that Apophis can cause a 48 km wide demolition trail, nearly equal to the narrowest horizontal section of Vietnam, and stretching from Russia through the Pacific Ocean, reaching Central America and cutting across Atlantic.

Although San Jose, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Venezuela are located in the area of ​​complete destruction, scientists still believe that the potential target of the destroyer is tens of thousands of kilometers off the coast. The west sea of ​​the United States, where it can create a deep seabed 8 km wide. Meanwhile, a 16-meter high tsunami will land on California's coast.

2029 or 2036?

Scientists believe that, if Apophis is exactly 30,229 kilometers from Earth, it will fly through what is called a "keyhole ," where gravity can suck Apophis, pulling it out of its orbit. it and put into an orbit of 7/6 lengths of Earth's orbit.

If that happens, exactly seven years later, in 2036 when Apophis comes back, our planet could be severely affected on the path of the ' behemoth '. Fortunately, its current trajectory shows that the situation can only happen with a probability of 1 / 45,000. But the calculation results of the American Planetary Association are more pessimistic with a probability of 1 / 1,000.

Veteran space pilot Russell Schweickart, 71, who was on the Apollo 9 spacecraft in 1969, also warned, even if the risk is very small, it should not be underestimated. Through the B612 Association, he is co-founder, Schweickart urged the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) to start preparing to deal with Apophis.

If he began to work, he said, the current technology is not enough to make Apophis deviate about 8,000 km to avoid crashing into the Earth in 2029 and return to our planet 7 years later as the script says. on. Unless there is tremendous scientific progress, otherwise, there will be very few scientists who can determine the exact point on Earth that is attacked by meteors.

Schweickart urged NASA to plan to launch a radio relay system on Apophis' surface, in order to get the most accurate information about its moving trajectory. That task took 12 years to complete. If the worst case scenario occurs, the data show that the meteorite enters the keyhole, there will be enough time to do something that deflects the orbit, but must act now.

By current technology, we can " nudge " it with a thrust of a tonnage spacecraft, causing a kinetic energy impact. Another solution: Use a " gravity propeller " spacecraft to fly over the meteorite and pull it gently out of orbit by its own gravity.

NASA is drafting a report to Congress at the end of this year about plans to deflect Apophis's path. In addition, an agency named Earth Defense Committee will be established in March 2007, with funding from multinational organizations including NASA, the European Space Agency and Research Organization. Save the Indian universe.