Friday 13 April, 2029; Easter Day 2036 - Apophis Unlikely to Hit Anything, Except the Headlines.

[The Answer]

Apophis is only about eight hundred feet wide. To put it in comparison, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was the size of Mt. Everest (over six miles) or to put it another way, almost 40 TIMES AS WIDE. If Apophis were to hit (which the chance is small but a chance non the less) all that kinetic energy being released from the impact would produce an explosion hundreds of times bigger than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It wouldn't be enough to drive humans to extinction, only enough to devisate an area about the size of Texas (if it hits the land). if it hits with Oceans we could be dealing with some big-ass tsunamis. But it's not enough to wipe out hummanity. It'd just be one hell of an explosion.

[Morgan]

Carlos uk wrote:

First of all - ASTROLOGERS know nothing about Apophis.
ASTRONOMERS, on the other hand, have studied it in depth.
There's a HUGE difference between ASTRONOMY and ASTROLOGY.
Astronomy is the study of the skies - Astrology is the misguided belief that the positions of certain objects can have a bearing on our everyday lives
It is a HUGE insult, to call and astronomer 'astrologer'
Secondly - Astronomers have NEVER said that Apophis was likely to strike Earth - they did identify that there WAS a small chance of a collision, but ALWAYS maintained that it wa olnly a VERY small possibility.
It is the MEDIA who latched onto the story, and blew it out of proportions, into a scare-story - NOT astronomers.
As time goes on - astronomers are getting a more and more accurate 'fix' on the trajectory od Apophis, and the chances of a collision get even smaller with every subsequent, more accurate neasurement.
Don't blame astronomers for the scare - and most certainly, DO NOT call them astrologers

Hahah. Seriously, it's astronomer! Astrologer, that's like horoscope bull