Apophis’ passage through Earth could cause tremors at asteroid, study says

Asteroid Apophis will pass near Earth on April 13, 2029; A 340 meter long rock that will be only 31 thousand km from the Earth’s surface. In a new study published in the preprint journal arXiv, a team of scientists say this passage can cause tremors and shifts in the object.

Using data from the Itokawa asteroid, the team developed computational models of Apophis that allowed them to make observations. Simulations to understand how it would react when it came this close to Earth.

The result shows that about an hour before it reaches its closest point to our planet, Earth’s gravity may affect its surface, causing tremors on the asteroid.

According to researchers, It is not yet clear whether the shaking modeled in the study led to widespread particle mobilization and/or elevation. So they don’t know exactly what impact the tremors will have on the cosmic rock.

“We performed multi-scale numerical modeling and found that the 2029 encounter will result in short-term, tidally driven, discrete seismic events that lead to high-frequency (>0.1 Hz) surface accelerations reaching magnitudes similar to Apophis’s gravity, which the study describes as detectable with modern seismometers.”

Was there an earthquake on the asteroid Apophis?

The study suggests that in addition to tremors, the phenomenon of gravity may also affect the asteroid’s rotation. This combined effect could destabilize the rocks on Apophis’ surface, which could trigger landslides over time. It is worth remembering that the rock is approximately 340 meters long, so a serious landslide may occur.

received object The name Apophis was given precisely because it was believed at that time that it could collide with the Earth.It causes a disaster that will kill millions of people and create chaos in society. Fortunately, current data points to a much safer and calmer scenario for humanity.

In any case, the paper’s researchers plan to study the issue in more detail. It uses real-time data from the OSIRIS-APEX mission, which is planned to observe Apophis during its closest flyby..

“We also found that there would be a significant change in the rotation state of Apophis that could lead to long-term surface updating in response to surface slope changes caused by turbulence. These results will be tested with future exploration of Apophis by NASA’s OSIRIS-APEX,” he said. The research concludes.

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