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ASTEROID APOPHIS EQUIVALENT TO 880 MILLION TONS OF BOMB TO PASS CLOSE TO EARTH IN 2029

 Experts has warned the potential impact of the approaching asteriods named after the God of Chaos as it travels on a path of the earth could potentially hit the planet.





Hawaii based astronomers confirmed the massive asteriod Apophis has accelerated on its path with almost 25,000 mph. Previous findings says impact is impossible, but recently experts suggest the asteriods has a potential crashing into earth on April 2029 - meaning it could be catastrophic.




It is estimated to be 1,000 ft wide and the impact would be equivalent to 880 million tons (TNT) explosives.



Apophis was first discovered on June 19, 2004 by astronomers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.



When the asteroid's body heats up in sunlight, it re-radiates the energy away as heat, which acts as tiny thrusters for the cosmic object.







Dave Tholen, one of the astronomers, said: 'The new observations we obtained with the Subaru telescope earlier this year were good enough to reveal the Yarkovsky acceleration of Apophis, and they show that the asteroid is drifting away from a purely gravitational orbit by about 170 meters per year, which is enough to keep the 2068 impact scenario in play.'


Apophis has also been given the title of the third-highest threat on NASA's Sentry Risk Table.





Researchers note that more observations need to be done in order to fully understand the amplitude of the Yarkovksy effect and how it affects Apophis' orbit are underway.


And they plan to 'know well before 2068 if there is any chance of an impact.' 



When Apophis was first discovered, experts said there was a 2.7 percent chance of an Earth impact in 2029, but now data shows it will safely pass within 19,794 miles of Earth.

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