The highlight of the release, however, is the newfound Yarkovsky acceleration on Apophis. “Apophis is noteworthy because of its extremely close approach to the Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.” The release says that the asteroid will be visible to the naked eye on the marked date. In a recent press release, astronomers from the University of Hawaii explained the importance of the asteroid. Astronomers, however, found that the Apophis is increasing in speed under the ‘Yarkovsky effect’, that is some of its parts of the asteroid are heating up faster than others. The potential impact is a newfound discovery, as earlier the asteroid was thought to just whiz past Earth. Since then, the asteroid has been determined to make a close contact with planet Earth in 2029, before potentially impacting it in 2068. Sprawling across 330-metres, Apophis was first discovered in 2004 by researchers at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. Named Apophis, the asteroid is ironically named after the Egyptian god of chaos and astronomers are looking at it very closely. An asteroid headed towards the Earth, due for a close approach to the planet, is now picking up speed.Ī team of scientists tracking the asteroid since 2004 has provided the update. As if the year 2020 was less of an omen in itself, a new piece of information is yet to add to its gravitas.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |