The giant asteroid “Death Star” with a diameter of about 335 meters. (End Time Headlines/Video Screenshot)
NASA’s official website said on March 25 that the asteroid “Death Star” approached the Earth on the morning of March 6, Beijing time, when the closest distance to the Earth was about 17 million kilometers away, without any impact on the Earth.
The asteroid, codenamed 99942, is also known as Apophis, commonly known as the “Death Star”. It is the Greek name for Apep, the ancient Egyptian god of darkness, chaos and destruction.
In ancient Egyptian mythology, there was a demon named “Apophis”. Its lifelong quest was to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness. Astronomy named the asteroid “Apophis” as it was heading straight for Earth from outer space, thinking it could pose an unprecedented threat of disaster to mankind.
The asteroid, about 400 meters in diameter, is about the size of four soccer fields and is taller than the 312-meter height of the Eiffel Tower in France. It was first discovered in June 2004 by astronomers from the University of Hawaii. At first scientists just wrote off the asteroid as a bland tracking target, but who knew that this was the beginning of something extraordinary.
On December 24, 2004, NASA scientists calculated that it had a 1 in 450 chance of hitting Earth on April 13, 2029. Since then, observations and calculations have continued, and the probability of it hitting the Earth in 2029 has been as high as 1 in 233.
But in March 2020, the University of Hawaii used the latest observations obtained by an astronomical telescope deployed near the summit of Mauna Kea to allow scientists to recalculate the trajectory of the space giant. The new trajectory shows that it is almost impossible for the asteroid to hit Earth, and that it will barely pass through the eye of gravity lock.
In March 2021, NASA reanalyzed the data and has removed the Death Star from its risk list.
Davide Farnocchia, an engineer and researcher at the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, said that optical and radar observations have reduced the error in the Death Star’s orbit from hundreds of kilometers to a few kilometers, and thus have provided greater certainty in predicting its future motion. “We can now remove the ‘Death Star’ from the risk list.” .
Fanochkia explained that there is no evidence that the Death Star is at risk for at least the next 100 years.
CNN reports that the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center has also removed the Death Star from its risk list.
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