Asteroid Apophis may collide Earth in 2036 causing mass destruction: NASA

Apophis was discovered in 2004, and is believed to be the size of two-and-a-half football fields.

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There is a large group of scientists working on ways to increase human life expectancy, and researching alternate planets for the mankind to shift to. But at the same time there is also a large group that has been calculating the Armageddon. The latest of which is a thirteen year research of some NASAscientists who have found that an asteroid named Apophis may collide with the Earth in 2036, resulting in the extinction of human and other species.

NASA says that it has recalculated the path of a large asteroid, and the refined path indicates that it may collide with Earth in 2036 resulting in massive destruction. “Apophis has been one of those celestial bodies that has captured the public’s interest since it was discovered in 2004,” said NASA’s Steve Chesley. “Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million.”

The information provided a more accurate glimpse of Apophis’ orbit well into the latter part of this century. Among the findings is another close encounter by the asteroid with Earth in 2068 with chance of impact currently at approximately three-in-a-million. As with earlier orbital estimates where Earth impacts in 2029 and 2036 could not initially be ruled out due to the need for additional data, it is expected that the 2068 encounter will diminish in probability as more information about Apophis is acquired.

Based on earlier calculations, Apophis was thought to have a 2.7 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2029. Additional observations of the asteriod ruled out any possibility of an impact in 2029. However, the asteroid is expected to make a record-setting — but harmless — close approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, when it comes no closer than 18,300 miles above Earth’s surface.

“The refined orbital determination further reinforces that Apophis is an asteroid we can look to as an opportunity for exciting science and not something that should be feared,” said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL.