Wow! I'll help you with your facts a little bit. An asteroid named Apophis is suppose to pass by Earth in May of 2029. In the year 2036 April I think Apophis has a 1 and 45,000 chance of hitting Earth. So no need to worry really. The odds when the asteroid was first discoved was 1 to 3. An additional impact date in 2037 has been identified; however, the impact probability for that encounter is 1 in 12.3 million.
Even if Apophis would strike Earth it would not be the end of the world nor the human race.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/a99942.html
I hope I helped clear things up a bit.
2007-08-20 15:51:33
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answer #1
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answered by Anonymous
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What asteroid is this?
The biggest scare was asteroid 99942 Apophis (which was known as 2004 MN4) which was supposed to hit us in 2029, then no it will be 2036 (on a Friday the 13th, no less!) and then, sorry it will be 2037...
The probability of a hit has since been reduced to one chance in 12.3 million (and gets even less likely as more calculation are done).
Since then, we have learned that this asteroid passes close to Earth every 8 years. Therefore it passes close in 2013, 2021, 2029, 2037...
It has been passing close to Earth for thousands of years and will continue to do so for thousands of years.
Apophis is "only" 350 metre across (a little over 1,000 ft). If it were to hit (and it will not), it would cause a lot of damage and kill billions of people, but it would not terminate the human race.
There is nothing else that size or bigger that is presently a threat to Earth. Anything smaller would not be the end of the world (it might still be a disaster for millions).
Check out the NASA orbit page where all 879 "Potentially Hazardous Asteroids" are listed and you can get a graph of the orbit for each. The list is often updated.
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Search the web with key words "Discovery Channel asteroid Earth" and you'll see that their web site predicts that an asteroid will destroy us in year xxxx, where xxxx can be any number you wish. Seems like one of their pet topics. Have fun.
2007-08-20 16:14:41
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answer #2
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answered by Raymond 7
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What do you mean by "the world?" If you mean the planet, it's much too big to be taken out by any asteroid. The worst one could do is make a dent in the surface. The planet will last for another 4 billions years, when the Sun swells up large enough to vaporize the poor thing.
If by the world you meant mankind, again the odds of an asteroid big enough to kill everyone striking is very slim. Even if an asteroid like Apophis strikes, it'll be no worse than any other natural disaster like an earthquake or tsunami. We are far more likely to be wiped out by disease or warfare.
Don't watch the Discovery channel. They're not reliable.
2007-08-20 17:01:39
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answer #3
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answered by stork5100 4
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I think you might want to watch that one again it looks like you got your facts mixed up. This question has been asked before. All NEO asteroids are tracked. None will hit Earth in 2021. There are between 30-50 NEO's every year. I've included a site so you can bite your nails each time one comes around. Checking NEO sites is probably a better idea than starting some end-of-the-world rumors don't you think?
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/
2007-08-20 16:22:32
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answer #4
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answered by Troasa 7
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It is possible that we may enter another dimension in 2012 according to the Mayans. The Hopi believe this to be the case also. There are events currently that threaten humanity and the well being of all humans and these dangers are real and well documented. The cassini probe that is currently on an orbit around the poles of Saturn may be our biggest threat currently to humans and the world. The probe carries a large amount of plutonium which if plunged into the orbit of Saturn far enough ti could create fission and the reaction could be something such as a 600 megaton explosion. If----- this should happen then Saturn could become ignited into a small star so that Titan could start to Terra form. The problem is that there is very good chance that hydrogen showers will hit the earth for 2-3 months afterward. This could kill millions upon millions of humans, animals and plant life.
It is believed that this was tried with Jupiter and the Galileo probe ,only that it did not penetrate deep enough to ignite due to the density and pressures but shortly after, a black spot the size of earth appeared on the equator.
There are of course arguments against this happening.
2010 A space odyssey is based upon this exact hypothesis
2007-08-20 16:47:13
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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By "world ending"I gather you actually mean "life as we know it"A large meteor impact would certainly do that.Many posters here are under the mistaken assumption that we know ALL the asteroids orbits and have tracked them.This is false,no scientist makes that claim.It is estimated that there are between 20,000 and 100,000 NEOs that we haven't located,much less tracked their orbits.Although the probability is very slim of an impact on any given day,one could be on a collision course now that we haven't even located yet.Tracking NEOs did not become a priority until we saw the huge devastation caused by comet shumaker-levi with Jupiter.One impact site was larger than planet Earth.Do research,anyone who claims we know where ALL of the NEOs are is completely,utterly misinformed.
Also,if a civilization destroying size asteroid were on a collision course,put yourself in ANY world leaders place.What possible good would come from revealing that info?Society would break down,chaos would ensue,millions,possibly billions would die in the anarchy that followed that news.The chaos could doom ANY prospect of survival,however slim.Personally,If I were the Pres.,I would classify the impending impact above top secret,you die immediately if you leak this.To release that info would be insane
2007-08-20 23:37:53
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answer #6
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answered by nobodinoze 5
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IF an asteroid struck the Earth in 2021 (and there is no evidence to support that), unless it was the size of the moon it wouldn't destroy the Earth.
It could very well destroy all life on the Earth, but life is not the whole planet.
2007-08-20 15:50:14
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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WHAT??
I never heard about this 2021 asteroid. This sucks.
That's only 14 years from now too.
Are you sure about this? If this is true, why is anyone working? Why is anyone investing for retirement? If this is true, why are there 30 year mortgages, or even 15 year mortgages?
When will the riots start?
2007-08-20 15:47:08
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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I have no clue when the world end, the sign's have been showing for ever! I doubt it will end in 2021, it's too earliy but it might.
2007-08-20 15:54:33
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answer #9
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answered by Christina 3
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according to a lot of the religions, the world is supposed to end around 2016 or so, for my religion, this is supposed to b like the second coming of Jesus or something.
2007-08-20 15:48:25
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answer #10
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answered by Taku 1
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