10-27-2020, 10:42 AM
In other news...
An asteroid might hit us.
For those of us planning to be around in 2068, we have an asteroid that might collide with us decades from now. Apophis - a near-Earth asteroid was going to come close to us in 2029. However, something called Yarkovsky acceleration means it might impact us in 2068. Fortunately, we have a lot of warning.
The Yarkovsky effect is basically caused by something heating up and when it cools down it releases photons, or light, generally in the infrared. Although photons have no mass, they carry energy and therefore have momentum. The release of infrared photons while the asteroid cools down acts like a very weak thruster and changes the orbit of the asteroid. The change is minute but over time becomes important.
We've now detected this tiny change in an asteroid that comes close to the Earth and might cause a collision in 2068. The good news is we have plenty of time to plan how to deal with it. The bad news is some people want to shut down astronomy in Hawaii.
Details from the UH here:
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/10/26/n...-findings/
An asteroid might hit us.
For those of us planning to be around in 2068, we have an asteroid that might collide with us decades from now. Apophis - a near-Earth asteroid was going to come close to us in 2029. However, something called Yarkovsky acceleration means it might impact us in 2068. Fortunately, we have a lot of warning.
The Yarkovsky effect is basically caused by something heating up and when it cools down it releases photons, or light, generally in the infrared. Although photons have no mass, they carry energy and therefore have momentum. The release of infrared photons while the asteroid cools down acts like a very weak thruster and changes the orbit of the asteroid. The change is minute but over time becomes important.
We've now detected this tiny change in an asteroid that comes close to the Earth and might cause a collision in 2068. The good news is we have plenty of time to plan how to deal with it. The bad news is some people want to shut down astronomy in Hawaii.
Details from the UH here:
https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/10/26/n...-findings/