Apophis was the ancient Egyptian spirit of evil, darkness, and destruction. In ten years, an asteroid named for this frightening deity will come closer to our planet than the orbit of our weather satellites.
It will pass us on April 13, 2029, and will be so close that we will be able to see it with the unaided eye for several hours. The asteroid is estimated to be around 1,115 feet in diameter, nearly four times taller than the Statue of Liberty.
NASA describes it as “one of the most important near-Earth asteroids ever discovered.” If Apophis were to strike us, it would cause what the space agency calls “major damage to our planet and likely to our civilization as well.”
Fortunately, the asteroid will not hit us. If you’re thinking that you’re therefore safe, you might think again.
NASA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and their international partners are convening this week at a Planetary Defense Conference. This is not a speculative exercise. At the start of the year, more than 19,000 near-Earth objects (NEOs) had already been discovered. Astronomers find thirty more each week to add to the list.
Experts estimate that they have found only one-third of the NEOs believed to exist. So far, astronomers have not discovered asteroids on a collision course with our planet. But, what would we do if they did?
NASA is planning a mission called DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) to practice deflecting asteroids. No one yet knows if this experimental technology will work when needed.
“Jihad will continue until doomsday”
Closer to earth, the leader of ISIS appeared for the first time in five years in a video released by the group.
With a $25 million US bounty on his head, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the world’s most wanted man. He nonetheless vowed a “long battle” with the West, claiming that the Easter Day bombings in Sri Lanka were “part of the revenge” that awaits us.
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