Giant Chaos God Asteroid May Not Remain Intact During Near-Earth Flyby – Study

The giant asteroid “God of Chaos,” or 99942 Apophis, named after the ancient Egyptian god of darkness and disorder, may not pose a threat to Earth, but that doesn’t mean Earth doesn’t pose a threat to it, ScienceAlert reports. UNN.

Details

“When asteroid 99942 Apophis makes a close flyby of Earth in 2029, the gravitational interaction between the two bodies is likely to dramatically change the surface of the asteroid,” concluded a study conducted by planetary scientist Ronald Balluz of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

The scientist believes that their findings can explain why some asteroids have a younger surface than would be expected from the time of their rotation in space.

“99942 Apophis is a cheeky asteroid. After its discovery in 2004, scientists estimated that the trajectory of the 335-meter chunk of rock could potentially lead it to collide with Earth on approach in April 2029. It gave us a great scare! Fortunately, it was just a scare .The scientists counted and counted the numbers and then counted them again for a bigger one 99942 Apophis will fly by at a distance of less than 32,000 kilometers from Earth in 2029, but there is no chance that it will collide with our world in the next century,” the publication states.

But what about 99942 Apophis? Will it remain intact? As Balluz and his team observed, near-Earth asteroids like 99942 Apophis tend to have two properties. Their surfaces are loose and gravelly; and they appear to show less weathering in space than asteroids that do not fly by planets.

Balluz and his team wondered if there might be a connection between the younger appearance of near-Earth asteroids and their near-Earth antics.

To find out, scientists simulated a flyby of Apophis 99942 in 2029. And they found that Earth’s gravity can indeed have a noticeable effect on 99942 Apophis.

Especially when the asteroid gets as close to Earth as possible. As it passes by, 99942 Apophis will be jolted by a series of short-lived seismic events. These seismic events could be felt and cause an acceleration of magnitudes on the surface, similar to the gravity of an asteroid, the publication writes.

The second effect will be more long-term. As an asteroid approaches Earth, the gravitational interaction can change the asteroid’s rotation. Over time, as the asteroid continues to orbit the Sun, the surface may slide, renewing itself over tens of thousands of years.

The asteroid will reportedly be visible to the naked eye when it passes Earth.

The study, accepted in The Planetary Science Journal, is available on arXiv.