__________________________________________________________________
On April 13, 2036, when the 270-meter-wide asteroid dubbed ‘99942 Apophis’ could hammer planet Earth with the force of two volcanos. Not enough to crack Earth like a rotten coconut, but enough to ruin a lot of people’s day.
Russian scientists made a more-dire-than-necessary prediction: that Apophis, named for the Egyptian god of Chaos, would blast the planet to borscht in 25 years.
Russia had announced mission plans to deflect the rock away from Earth. That approach was criticized for fear it might actually have the opposite effect.
Even more confusing is the possibility that in April of the year 2029, the asteroid ‘Apophis’ might pass through a “gravitational keyhole”. The Theory is that it could alter its orbit enough to swing it back to hit Earth in 2036.
That level of risk is in between dying in a flood — 1 in 175,803 — and getting blown up by fireworks, 1 in 386,766 (death by gunshot risk is 1 in 306, and that hasn’t prompted the repeal of the Second Amendment, after all).
Apophis doesn’t even rate high on the ‘Near-Earth Object’ risk charts. But before you cross astro-death off your list of things to worry about, think about this: NASA’s budget request for 2012 for patrolling the skies has increased fivefold, from $4 million to $20 million, though the number is subject to change in current congressional debates. Hmm?
___________________________________________________________
Source: AOL News
