Update to Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 99942 Apophis Bigger Than Thought

Potentially Dangerous Asteroid Apophis Bigger Than Thought: See It Online Tonight

www.space.com... CE.com+Headline+Feed%29

Date: 09 January 2013 Today, ESA officials announced that its infrared Herschel Space Observatory has discovered that Apophis is about 1,066 feet (325 meters) wide, nearly 20 percent larger than a previous estimate of 885 feet (270 m).
"The 20 percent increase in diameter … translates into a 75 percent increase in our estimates of the asteroid's volume or mass," study leader Thomas Müller of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, said in a statement. Well I don't know about the rest of you but i'm going to watch. Once again I ask with 99942 been so close can the momentum from it moving in space cause some kind of Atmospheric problems here on earth? Can it cause a powerful EMP? Can it cause things to happen like earthquakes and volcano to be come active? Has anyone revaluated the passing of 99942 after the earth was knocked off its axes? References--99942 Apophis en.wikipedia.org... *************** Chile earthquake shifted Earth's axis www.space.com...

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How strange that it has the same name as the gua uld lord in SG1. Conspiracy?

As far as I know they have certain missiles strategically placed so that it can hit any incoming asteroid if it is dangerous for us.
So no worries.

Originally posted by shivaX
As far as I know they have certain missiles strategically placed so that it can hit any incoming asteroid if it is dangerous for us.
So no worries.

You are deluded. They can't even launch a rocket into an orbit. It's all a hoax.

Bruce Willis can´t save us, well lets hope the best

Watch it online from SLOOH starts 2 hours 53 minutes

Originally posted by Avgudar

Originally posted by shivaX
As far as I know they have certain missiles strategically placed so that it can hit any incoming asteroid if it is dangerous for us.
So no worries.

You are deluded. They can't even launch a rocket into an orbit. It's all a hoax.

Really? Deluded

Russian Intends On Firing Missile at Asteroid Headed for Earth
Nuclear One-Two Punch Could Knock Out Dangerous Asteroid

reply to post by shivaX


that's quite naive, and silly really.

Firstly, they don't have missiles strategically placed to take out an asteroid. Hell even the Iron Dome system barely functions, and those targets aren't even that high up.

Secondly, to be effective, we'd need a deem understanding of the geology of the asteroid, composition, etc.

Lastly, firing missiles at an incoming asteroid would at best, do nothing, at worst, the resulting EMP would knock most of our satellites offline while the rubble pile created out of the asteroid still slams into earth potentially doing more danger than a single impact.

Anyways, back to reality...

So, Apophis is bigger and heavier than thought.... What does this mean for it's next pass, where it either goes through the keyhole, ensuring we get hit on the next pass, or flies by safely....

Alright Neil Degrass Tyson, you are up to bat buddy, save us

reply to post by shivaX

Really? Deluded

Yeah, you are deluded as that article you link says this:

Referring to Apophis, the asteroid, Perminov said that we should invest millions of dollars into a program that would prevent such a collision. He believes that it is possible to avoid a worldwide disaster.

He believes it's possible and wants to start investing money into it. Yeah, that certainly screams "we have missiles strategically placed" to me.

The closer it is to earth, the bigger kick they have to give it. They would have already had to hit it to knock it out where it would miss us. At this point, there aren't enough nukes on the planet to nudge it far enough to miss us if it were going to hit. Add to that the challenge of hitting one in deep space, with something not designed to do that, and the odds of it working aren't great.

reply to post by phishyblankwaters


More than 1 way to protect our planet.

Some people would like to blow potentially hazardous rocks out of the sky with a nuclear bomb. Others would deploy a radiation-intensive neutron bomb (the Cold War–era bomb that kills people but leaves buildings intact) to induce a recoil and alter the asteroid’s orbit. A kindler, gentler approach would be to nudge it into a different orbit with slow but steady rockets that have somehow been attached to one side — or with a solar sail, which harnesses the pressure of sunlight for its propulsion.
The odds-on favorite solution, however, is the gravitational tractor. This involves parking a probe in space near the killer asteroid. As their mutual gravity draws the probe to the asteroid, an array of retro rockets fires, instead causing the asteroid to draw toward the probe and off its collision course with Earth.

LINK

Personally, I would rather see them land on Apophis and then strap or attach thrusters on to it. Then they could park it on the moon (or lunar orbit) or within a stable orbit out at a L5 or other Lagrange point for future use.

It would be a nice sturdy platform to build a base on.

M.

Provide a link.

ill be the 1st to flag it op

nice find

reply to post by phishyblankwaters

He believes it's possible and wants to start investing money into it. Yeah, that certainly screams "we have missiles strategically placed" to me.

Currently there is no asteroid that will be hitting us in the next 24 hours.

Even if it is not 'strategically placed' ,it can be done when the time comes.

ssd.jpl.nasa.gov...

this will not even come close enough to worry about, according to the above website, but, if you have other information on the minimum distance using AU (1 AU is the distance of earth to the sun) or, LD (1 LD is the distance of earth to the moon), please show it.

I read some story yesterday about an asteroid coming within 25000 miles from the earth and may even knock out satellites on the way. Now that would interesting.

I wondered if we would hear more of this before it gets nearer.

Here's the link for it if you want to add it to your OP www.space.com/19193-asteroid-apophis-bigger-live-webcasts.html

www.space.com...

Asteroid Apophis has long been billed as a "doomsday asteroid" because of a 2004 study that predicted a 2.7 percent chance of the space rock hitting Earth when it passes within 22,364 miles (36,000 kilometers) of the planet in April 2029, European Space Agency officials said. Later studies proved, however, that the asteroid poses no threat to Earth during that flyby, but astronomers continue to track the object since it will make another pass near Earth in 2036

Originally posted by Avgudar
How strange that it has the same name as the gua uld lord in SG1. Conspiracy?

It's not really strange at all. Apophis is an evil god from the Egyptian pantheon.

I believe I have heard him referred to by a secondary title "The Destroyer." Which is believe is why this asteroid was nicknamed this way-- it has been speculated that it will make one near-earth pass in the very near future, with some chance of collision, and that if it does not do so, it may have a greater chance of collision on its next pass in a couple decades time.

I've only seen the films, but assuming the show is the same (which seems safe at this point) I believe they take a number of their characters from Egyptian mythology.

Originally posted by sylent6
I read some story yesterday about an asteroid coming within 25000 miles from the earth and may even knock out satellites on the way. Now that would interesting.

Geo-sync orbit satellites are at about 35000 km (22000ish miles). Since Apophis is supposed to pass within 30,000 km, I'd say this guy would have a chance... assuming it would pass through that zone above the equator where the satellites are positioned. (and of course, the chance was increased by its newly updated size...)

Originally posted by ddarkangle2badHas anyone revaluated the passing of 99942 after the earth was knocked off its axes? References--99942 Apophis en.wikipedia.org... *************** Chile earthquake shifted Earth's axis www.space.com...

axis shift is not the same as orbital shift