Apophis worry

Please mark Sunday, April 13, 2036. It was the day that Apophis meteorite could crash into Earth - the collision was enough to erase a small country in the world. Biggest hope: the possibility of this collision is currently 1 / 6,250, and people can still intervene!

Up to this point, according to the US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), Apophis - about 305m in diameter - is the most threatening meteorite. An impact of Apophis in urban areas can bring about the same damage as the destruction of Hurricane Katrina (US), the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco combined.

The model of a meteorite hit the Earth is said to have extinct the dinosaurs.The picture shows a tsunami rising four hours after a meteorite 10km in diameter crashed.(Photo: New Scientist)

The destruction of meteorites equals 880 tons of TNT, 65,000 times greater than the destruction of Hiroshima's atomic bomb! Apophis (the name of the god of sin and destruction of Egypt) was discovered by scientists in 2004 Titt, DJ Tholen and F. Bernardi at the Kitt Peak Observatory.

In 1998, US lawmakers ordered NASA to identify at least 90% of meteorites with a diameter of more than 1km are moving in the orbit of the Sun and periodically traverse the Earth. So far, scientists have completed about three-quarters of this search.

Most likely falling into the ocean

According to the research of two Steve Chesley scientists (Pasadena Jet Laboratory) and Steve Ward (Santa Cruiz University, California), the meteorite falling into the ocean is believed to be the biggest possibility due to land grabs. less than 1/3 of the Earth's surface. Chesley and Ward have studied objects 60-400m in diameter that hit the Earth.

If falling into the ocean, small meteorites can cause 10m high waves when hitting the shore. 50 million people in the world live in coastal areas, in theory, they can be affected by these waves.

With a frequency of about 6,000 years, a 300m-diameter meteorite could create a tsunami larger than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Not to mention that they can throw in huge amounts of water vapor, hindering the heaven heating the planet. According to one of the assumptions, this type of event 65 million years ago led to the extinction of dinosaurs.

(Photo: New Scientist)

Land

If the meteorite falls to the ground, the destruction will depend on the uninvited "guest" landing. The economic loss of such an event is about $ 110 billion.

Meeting the requirements of the US Congress, NASA has listed meteorites capable of crashing into Earth. The last time they were interested was an 800m-diameter object named HZ51 2006, which is expected to hit Earth after two years.

According to experts B612 Fund (specializing in monitoring dangerous objects of the universe, named above to commemorate a meteorite mentioned in the Little Prince), the two-year term is not enough to adjust the trajectory of the object can by existing means. (To make it deviate from orbit, it takes tens of years). However, after only a while HZ51 was removed from the list because the experts figured it was impossible for it to hit Earth.

Now with Apophis, astronauts Ed Lu and Stanley Love have asked NASA to set up a special fund to prevent "pre-emptive death" in 2036. But how will this meteorite change its orbit? One can only know it no earlier than April 13, 2029.

It is time to accurately measure the distance between Apophis and the Earth in the first close chain (closer to the Earth than the telecommunications satellites). The two astronauts have suggested putting these sensors into meteorites for more information about this cosmic hazard. If the danger is real, the next step will be the impact of changing the meteor's trajectory: by laser beam from the Moon or by atomic weapons!

TRAN DUC THANH