99942 APOPHIS - A more detailed report.

Apparently, the near-Earth asteroid named "99942 Apophis" has an orbit which almost mirrors Earth's orbit. In 2029 Apophis must clear a 400 meter gravitational "keyhole" in order to avoid hitting Earth. Seven years later, in 2036, it has to clear another keyhole. These 2 keyholes are the 2 points at which Apophis' orbit intersects Earth's orbit.

In the movie "Armageddon" starring Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, although the asteroid is broken up with a nuclear bomb, some scientists say that's not a realistic or safe approach since the fragmented pieces would crash into Earth, rather than going around it.

Rusty Schweickart, a former NASA astronaut and the founder of the B612 Foundation, a private group whose mission is to demonstrate how to deflect an asteroid favors a different approach. He calls it the "asteroid tugboat" tactic, in which a spacecraft flys to an asteroid and pushes the craft's nose gently into it. The craft then starts a slow burn of its engine and pushes the asteroid into a different trajectory, like a tugboat.

David Durda , an astronomer at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, CO, prefers pulling the asteroid instead of pushing it. In theory, a rope won't be required as gravity will act as the towline. A spacecraft positioned near an asteroid and firing its engines over many months could pull the asteroid off course, PROVIDED the gravitational attraction between the spacecraft and the asteroid is strong enough.

Personally, I'd make my getaway to the moon, Mars or any one of the 166 moons in our solar system. As long as we understand how to build a dynamo to deflect radiation, we'll survive.
5 months ago
Source(s):Posted on Astronomy Forum 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apoph...
http://www.atmospheres.5u.com