8 The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, 9 a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
10 The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water—11 the name of the star is Wormwood.[a] A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.
12 The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. (Revelation 8)
For years, I did not think much about Apophis because I simply trusted what the “experts” were telling us. For example, NASA is unequivocally stating that “there is no risk of Apophis impacting our planet for at least a century”…
Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth object (NEO) estimated to be about 1,100 feet (335 meters) across.
When it was discovered in 2004, Apophis was identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth. But that impact assessment changed after astronomers tracked Apophis, and its orbit became better determined.
NASA is promising us that we do not have to worry about this giant space rock at all.
If our top experts are this confident, why are some people out there still concerned about Apophis?
Well, it turns out that there are several reasons.
First of all, this giant space rock is going to come extremely close to our planet.
In fact, we are being told that it will be “less than one-tenth the distance to the Moon”as it flies by us…
It will be a very close pass. Apophis will come within about 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) of Earth — less than one-tenth the distance to the Moon. The asteroid will fly below the altitude of some satellites, but should arrive on a trajectory that makes any collision highly unlikely.
In astronomical terms, that is a really, really close shave. In all of human history, we have never had a giant space rock come so close to us.
Secondly, we cannot actually see Apophis right now.
We have not been able to see Apophis since the middle of 2021 and we will not be able to see it again until 2027…
If there is the slightest change in the trajectory of Apophis, it could hit us.
And we will not know if the trajectory of Apophis has changed until we are able to view it in 2027.
For the moment, our scientists are assuming that the trajectory of Apophis has not been altered at all, and that is what they are basing their optimistic forecasts on.
Thirdly, everyone agrees that Earth’s gravitational pull will have an impact on Apophis.
The researchers discovered that two physical processes — triggered by Earth’s gravitational tugs — will likely sculpt Apophis’ surface during its 2029 encounter. One is tremors that will probably begin an hour before Apophis reaches its closest point to Earth and continue for a short while after.
The tremors’ strength is difficult to estimate, Ballouz said. However, “Apophis’ gravity is about 250,000 times smaller than Earth’s,” he added. “So, we think that events of much smaller magnitude could plausibly shake things up on its surface.”
The other process that could “refresh” Apophis’ surface is a change in its tumbling. Tumbling occurs because the asteroid doesn’t rotate on a fixed axis or time period; instead, it tumbles through space like a badly thrown football.
An unrelated 2023 study showed that Earth’s gravity would cause the asteroid to rotate either more quickly or more slowly depending on its orientation during the 2029 approach. The new simulations confirmed this finding. They also revealed that the changes in Apophis’ tumbling will cause the sloping faces of surface rocks to destabilize, potentially triggering landslides in extreme cases.
It is actually tumbling along quite violently, and if the spin rate of the asteroid changes just slightly that could change everything.
According to Professor Gareth Collins, if Apophis actually hits our planet the amount of energy released would be “equivalent to the explosive yield of the global nuclear arsenal”…
A wall of water hundreds of feet high would hit the west coast at blinding speed, and Tyson claims that virtually everything in the path of this wall of water would be instantly destroyed…
But it is interesting to note that the European Space Agency will be sending a robotic spacecraft to “rendezvous with the asteroid in February 2029”…
The European Space Agency has given the go-ahead for initial work on a mission to visit an asteroid called (99942) Apophis. If approved at a key meeting next year, the robotic spacecraft, known as the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses), will rendezvous with the asteroid in February 2029.
Do they know something that we don’t?
Interestingly, Apophis was named after the Egyptian god of chaos, and it is approaching at a time when our entire planet is descending into a state of great chaos.
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