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Four-billion-year-old ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid could trigger major reaction after flying past Earth – Science
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Four-billion-year-old ‘God of Chaos’ asteroid could trigger major reaction after flying past Earth – Science

You may have heard that a big, honking asteroid known as the “God of Chaos” is heading our way and that it will come closer to planet Earth than some satellites.

Scientists now believe that its flight could cause a major reaction.

What is the “God of Chaos” asteroid?

The “God of Chaos” asteroid is at least 340 meters wide and is expected to fly closer than we would like to Earth in 2029.

The asteroid’s real name is 99942 Apophis and is named after Ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. Not at all worrying.

This is where the nickname “Chaos God” comes from, although the chances of him causing the destruction of our planet are incredibly low.

The asteroid is named after an ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction, depicted here as a large snake being completely toned by Atum. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The asteroid is named after an ancient Egyptian god of chaos and destruction, depicted here as a large snake being completely toned by Atum. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

On its current trajectory, the asteroid should not hit Earth and scientists We’ve calculated that the chances of the “Chaos God” hitting something else along the way and being redirected our way are pretty low.

About one in two billion to be preciseso it probably won’t happen and we are unlikely to end up as unwitting participants in an actual interpretation of Don’t look for.

When will the “God of Chaos” asteroid fly past Earth?

Experts estimate that it will safely pass by our planet on April 13, 2029, coming within about 20,000 miles (which is actually closer than some satellites) to the little rock where we all live, but without colliding with us. .

The opportunity for this asteroid to disrupt our times is minimal, but the “God of Chaos” may come to regret flying so close to our planet due to the changes it would experience.

What will happen when the “God of Chaos” asteroid flies past Earth?

Asteroids are normally hit regularly by small meteoroids, in what is called “space weathering,” but some of the rocks that fly past planets do not have rough surfaces.

Asteroid scientist Ronald-Louis Ballouz of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory wanted to find out why, and he said Live Science shows that many pieces of rock that fly past planets have a rather smooth shape.

Here it is... (NASA)

Here it is… (NASA)

He and a team of experts from around the world created a computer model of the “God of Chaos,” modeling it after other asteroids we know of, and simulated what would happen to it as it passed Earth.

It appears that our planet’s gravity could cause earthquakes on the asteroid that would pick up rocks and push them back to the surface, creating new patterns and potentially breaking up old ones to create a smoother surface.

Ballouz told Live Science: “Apophis’ gravity is about 250,000 times smaller than Earth’s, so we think much smaller events could plausibly shake things up on its surface.”

Getting closer to our planet may also cause the former asteroid to rotate differently, as the speed of its rotation could also be affected by our planet’s gravity.

What would happen if the “God of Chaos” asteroid hit Earth?

We will have to wait another four and a half years. (Getty Image Bank)

We will have to wait another four and a half years. (Getty Image Bank)

First of all, this would not be a global extinction event that wiped out humanity on the scale of the dinosaurs.

According to The Planetary Society said given the size of the asteroid, it would cause “massive regional destruction” and ruin the lives of anyone living near the impact zone.

However, we would not face a global catastrophe that would ruin everyone’s lives.

Even if it hit Earth, which most likely won’t, there’s a good chance it would crash into the sea and not inconveniently crash into a major population center.

April 2029 may seem far away, but time, like that big asteroid, will simply fly by.