2036 Earth Asteroid Impact?

Question

How extensive could the damage be to our planet? Would our very existence be threatened? Are there any feasible counter measures to alter this asteroids path? Is it possible to forecast the future impact site on our planet yet? If we can do nothing to prevent this strike, What would our "Government" suggest we do, and what then should we really do? Sorry so many questions at once.

Answer 1

Right now, with the orbital information we have on "Apophis" (the asteroid in question), it appears that it's NOT going to hit us. There is still some question, though, since gravitational interactions between Apophis and other planets between now and then could change its orbit. So we're waiting and continuing to gather data.

There are currently 5 or 6 proposals -- all considered viable -- for ways to redirect the asteroid if it appears it would hit us. Some require spacecraft to go to the asteroid, some don't. We have plenty of time to figure this out if and when we find out that it is going to hit us.

And yes, Apophis is big enough that if it did hit earth, it would cause global devastation. Wouldn't matter much where it hit, though we will be able to know that several years in advance (but not yet -- right now it's not going to hit us, remember?).

Relax, we have plenty of time to find out if it's going to change course, and act on it if it does :)

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure I read an article that indicated that scientists, actually mathematicians, had determined that 2004 MN4 would be a near miss, by roughly half the distance to the moon. Here is the origin of the story and more links. The real danger is NOT the ones we know about, it is the ones we have no idea about!

Scientist have stated that there is a 1 in 10,000 probability that this detected and observed asteroid (2004 MN4) will impact the Earth in 2036. The occurrence of this impact event is not for certain--further studies and verification are in progress and will be continuing over the next decades. There are other potential earth impacting asteroids moving through space which also warrant our attention. NASA's Near Earth Object Program website
( http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/ ) lists these potential earth impactors.

Answer 3

A while ago I done the maths and work out the energy released from the collision would be equal to something like 30 nuclear bombs - which will without doubt cause a significant amount of damage, but it will not cause a mass extinction. Humans will 100% still exist after the 2036 collision. You also have to remember there is something like a 1 in 250,000 chance it will collide with Earth in 2036. Yes, the religious people say, "Earth will never be destroyed until God does" -- since I am not religious I would not say a thing like this.

Answer 4

First, stop making fun of CarloS. Go google 2036 asteroid and you'll see.

Second, it is a little early to panic. Right now there is a 1 in 10,000 chance that it will hit. So we are much more likely to get hit that anyone is to win the lottery.

It is a thousand feet across so wold be something like the ones that his in Armageddon or Deep Impact. It will wipe out an area a few hundred miles in radius, cause damage out to a thousand miles and effect weather globally for years. On the up-side it would probably off-set global warming. An ocean hit would make The Tsunami look like me doing a cannon ball.

Answer 5

Do you have information about 2036 that no one else knows about???

If it was known an asteroid would hit the earth in 2036, don't you think it would be front page news on every newspaper in the world?

Anyways, if there was going to be an asteroid impact, there is nothing you can do about, so don't worry, BE HAPPY!

Answer 6

You are thinking of asteroid 99942 Apophis. The source says we now know it will not hit. It also says the asteroid is only about 300 meters wide, which is much less than 1 mile, so any impact, although extremely detrimental to an area of thousands of square kilometers, would have been unlikely to have long-lasting global effects, such as the initiation of an impact winter.

Answer 7

Hmmm. 24 years after the end of civilization as we know it? And I'll be 81 at the time. Not sure I'll really care. The gov't can't do anything but hide the facts from us, which they've been doing since 1947. You know what? Since nobody particularly cares about what we're currently being lied to about, I doubt people deserve any better than they're getting. If we KNOW we're being lied to, WHY AREN"T WE CALLING THE GOV'T TO ACCOUNT NOW???????

Answer 8

It will be interesting to see what happens in 2036. Maybe it's an aftermath of the events of 2012?? I'll have to research this one.

Answer 9

i dont know..ive heard of this one, it's pretty scary but if you're going to worry about something like this, look up the year 2012...according to many theories and cultures something major is going to happen...there's a lot of speculation as to what it will be and to whether it's good or bad...one of the theories is called the novelty theory, it's pretty interesting...(im not saying i believe in it..im naming it so people can research and make their own decisions.)

Answer 10

it depends on the size. if it was as big as the one that wipped out the dinosaurs, then yes, nearly everything would die. besides the fact that earth is hit with meteorids and everything everyday, it would have to be REALLY big to block the sun, destroy the atmosphere, etc.