Asteroid Apophis, who yesterday flew a distance of 14.46 million km from Earth, is the most dangerous for our planet. Experts around the world are trying to find ways to protect it from potential threatening from space. Russian scientists propose to shoot down dangerous celestial bodies from the dangerous impacts of small asteroids orbit.
The report will be presented in April at a conference on planetary protection in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The trick is, that in order to change the direction of the desired trajectory of the projectile asteroid used near the Earth gravity assist. With the help of gravity assist is available to increase the speed of three kilometers per second though to display the trajectory of the asteroid maneuver to add only 2.5 meters per second - RIA Novosti said one of the authors of the project, a leading researcher at the Institute for Space Research ( IKI) of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nathan Eysmont.
Experts offer to run the unit on the rocket Soyuz-lighthouse, which will be put on Apophis - developing a project of this lighthouse in the SRI and the Lavochkin. The second device - the engine for the projectile - will be launched on Proton. As the projectile is proposed asteroid 2011 UK10. It is estimated to bring down the trajectory of Apophis with June 2027, the engine should launch in December 2021, and its landing on the projectile to be held in August 2022.
Next time, Apophis will approach the Earth in April 2029, after passing his distance of about 36 thousand km, that is, almost at the height of the orbit of geostationary satellites. Scientists fear that in the immediate vicinity of the planet, he is able to change its orbit so that in 2036 the next approach to Earth can run with it.
It#39;s really dangerous for the Earth, because if an asteroid falls on its surface - and it will fall at a rate of not less than 16 kilometers per second - is of one of its fall release of energy will be like the fall of thousands of nuclear bombs in the atmosphere will rise a huge amount of dust - said the head of the laboratory of the State Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University, Mikhail Prokhorov.
On the eve of scientists have found that Apophis is 75% heavier and 20% larger in diameter than previously thought. Initially, experts believed that the diameter of the Earth#39;s potential murderer - 270 plus or minus 60 meters. Data obtained telescope ESA Herschel show that this quantity is at least 325 meters.
