UPCOMING ENCOUNTER WITH AN INFAMOUS ASTEROID!! 

(scroll right to the end for the interactive map)

(ESA: 99942 Apophis)

SOME BACKGROUND:

This asteroid is named after the Egyptian Great Serpent of primordial chaos, death, of the end pretty much.

99942 Apophis

The entity itself is a bit of touchy subject amongst pagans both modern and ancient because of what it represents. When I use the name I am referring to the asteroid.

⟢  IT WAS DISCOVERED IN 2004. LOST AND THEN FOUND AGAIN IN LATE 2004. Scientists were for a moment worried about its chances of collision with earth which was just a bit too high for comfort at that time, at least until a few years after when they were able to gather more data to accurately predict when that may actually be and what chances we may have. So basically not for a while. But at some point in the future it probably will hit earth. For now we can't calculate when an actual impact would be. Like, for the next hundred years at least.

So don't freak out.

I think it's just a little funny that there might have been a couple scientists shitting themselves for the moments I imagine when they didn't know what we actually concluded. I think I'd shit myself and then accept my fate lmfao.

But since then we've been studying it and obtained cool and exciting data. Enough to expect particular and extraordinary things for Friday the 13th... 2029.

KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF APOPHIS:

⟢  THIS IS AN ATENA CLASS ASTEROID. There are four classes of Near Earth Asteroids, of which Atena and Apollo classes are the ones that are Earth-crossing. Those are the ones that cross our path of orbit around the Sun and not just hitching a ride on the interior or exterior of it. 

⟢  99942 APOPHIS IS CLASSIFIED AS A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS ASTEROID (PHA) here because of its size (duh), magnitude of brightness, and how it will interact with us at an earth-orbital distance.

⟢  It is comparable in size to the US Capitol Building, 340 meters in diameter and otherwise estimated at 450 meters by 170 meters in size. Big boy.

CHICXULUB? THE DINOSUARS? THE DINO-DON'T ASTEROID (lol)? No lol don't worry, Apophis is not a global catastrophe type of asteroid like that one. Chicxulub was supposedly so much bigger.

However, Apophis WAS rated the highest an asteroid has ever been categorized on the TORINO SCALE since we have been able to do all this. This asteroid is still very capable of decimating at least an entire large city and causing widespread destruction for hundreds of kilometers from impact point. Striking into the ocean, it could also send raging tsunamis globally. 

HYPOTHETICALLY. Chill. 

But one is still big, and it isn't size alone you need to be worried about when it comes to PHAs. Potential damage doesn't rely only on size I hope that's obvious. Angle, velocity, where it could impact exactly and all that.

But realistically right now this will not be an event you need to have ANY worry about.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

⟢  We will be getting a very close encounter on Friday April 13th in 2029. Very close, but it will very likely NOT hit us. 

⟢  It will be visible in the night sky to the naked eye at about 3rd-4th magnitude for a few hours at its closest approach for observers in western Europe and Africa.

⟢  Only in binoculars will it be visible to the west coast of North America at about 7th-6th magnitude. On the night of April 12-13 Pacific Daylight Time.

HOW CLOSE?

⟢  Apophis will fly within 0.1 lunar distances, missing us by about 32,000-31,600 KM or slightly less than 19,800 miles. Pretty damn close to our satellites 🛰 and then closer. It's gonna make out with Earth's orbit for a sec, then Earth's orbit has a chance of changing the asteroid's path as we currently know it. That's what I'm so curious to find out about afterwards I dunno about you. The unexpected!

It will pull on Earth's tides too. Some gravity shit, y'all. That's crazy.

AND!!

⟢  NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will make a rendez-vous with the asteroid post flyby! More details will be in a later blog post.

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Here's The Interactive Map Link From Eyes On Asteroids By NASA where you can see 99942 Apophis and see its trajectory all the way through April 13th 2029 !!!

(or copy this: https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids/#/99942_apophis )

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THX 4 READING !!!