Yet another asteroid is heading our way and could hit us in
31 years?will this one spell our doom, like an earlier one did
for the dinosaurs? This one is called Apophis, after the
ancient
Egyptian spirit of evil and destruction.
Alok Jha writes in The Guardian that the asteroid is now
aiming for Earth. It?s being watched by astronomers all over
the world, and if it looks like it will hit a body of land, they
may try to figure out how to deflect it or break it up in
space. Most asteroids that hit the Earth land in the ocean,
since oceans cover most of the Earth?s area. NASA says that
an impact from Apophis, which could come in 2036, would
release more than 100,000 times the energy of the nuclear
bomb that was detonated over Hiroshima in World War II. No
matter where it does hit, we would all be affected by the
nuclear winter that effect from millions of dust particles being
released into the atmosphere. This is probably what killed off
the dinosaurs.
Astronomers have tracked Apophis ever since it was
discovered in June but it has only started worrying them now,
because they say the odds of it hitting Earth in 2029 are
alarming. We don't have much time to lose. It will take many
years to design, test and build the technology we need to
deflect the asteroid. Meteor expert Monica Grady says an
impact by Apophis could cause "mass extinction?We are
overdue for a big one."
Art credit: gimp-savvy.com
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