Think we'll be around in about 30 yrs?

[L Gilbert]

I musta missed this one.Was probably interested in some other branch of science at the time.

In Egyptian myth, Apophis was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into eternal darkness.
A fitting name, astronomers reasoned, for a menace now hurtling towards Earth from outerspace. Scientists are monitoring the progress of a 390-metre wide asteroid discovered last year that is potentially on a collision course with the planet, and are imploring governments to decide on a strategy for dealing with it.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/dec/07/spaceexploration.research

 

[Praxius]

Your page took forever to go nowhere and therefore I couldn't read any of the original content.

Asteroid Apophis: Dealing with Earth's Future Troublemaker
http://www.space.com/news/051103_asteroid_apophis.html

BOULDER, Colorado - The potential for a newly discovered asteroid smacking into the Earth in 2036 cannot be discounted. NASA has sketched out a response strategy in the outside possibility that the space rock becomes a true threat.

NASA's action plan was the result of prodding by a group of astronauts, scientists and other technical specialists uneasy about the current lack of action to protect the Earth from the impact of near Earth objects (NEOs).

The object was found last year through the efforts of NASA's Spaceguard Survey. In 1998 NASA formally initiated the Spaceguard Survey by adopting the objective of finding 90 percent of the near Earth asteroids larger than 3,280 feet (one kilometer) diameter within the next decade - before the end of 2008.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis - first labeled as 2004 MN4 -- is estimated to be roughly 1,000 feet (320 meters) in diameter. Were it to strike Earth, it would not set off global havoc but would generate significant local or regional damage, experts say.

Worrisome to asteroid watchers is the exceptionally close flyby of Earth by Apophis on April 13, 2029. So close in fact, the space rock will be naked-eye visible as it darts by.

And what can't be ruled out at this time is that Apophis may pass through a gravitational "keyhole" - a spot that alters the asteroid's trajectory as it zips by our planet and might put it on the bee-line lane for banging into Earth seven years later.

Solution?

...."The key conclusion to be taken from this analysis," Cleave explained in the letter, "is that aggressive (i.e., more expensive) action can reasonably be delayed until after the 2013 observing opportunity. For Apophis, the 16 years available after 2013 are sufficient to recognize and respond to any hazard that still exists after that time."

Cleave noted in the letter that while Apophis "is an object whose motion we will continue to monitor closely in the coming years, we conclude a space mission to this object based solely on any perceived collision hazard is not warranted at this time."

Not ruled out by Cleave, however, is the prospect of Discovery-class, low-cost missions sent to Apophis, "based on purely scientific arguments," she said.

"Indeed, the asteroid's orbit is particularly attractive for spacecraft rendezvous, and the extraordinary close encounter in April 2029 provides a unique opportunity to investigate a number of scientific NEO issues," Cleave explained in the letter.

 

[lone wolf]

I'll try and stay up for it - but the odds sound pretty much the same as predicting where the Frisbee a four-year-old just launched into a windy day is going to land.

I'm inclined to think it's going to be one we don't see that's gonna bonk us.

 

[Praxius]

I'll try and stay up for it - but the odds sound pretty much the same as predicting where the Frisbee a four-year-old just launched into a windy day is going to land.

I'm inclined to think it's going to be one we don't see that's gonna bonk us.

lol, I was thinking a similar thing earlier..... chances are we'll concentrate so much on how to prevent this one, that it'll never come close and we'll just be fine, only to be smacked from behind by several other ones.