Do You Want The Simple Truth About Apophis And 3I-Atlas

The image is startling to imagine, but the possibilities are out there, and one is coming close enough to leave a nick if it were a shave. For a long time, it was all the world of Astronomy could talk about. It was the asteroid that a supercomputer gave a high chance of striking the Earth, leading scientists to the initial conclusion that it would hit Earth in 2029. 

Things have gone…well, silent on the Apophis front. Now there are only the occasional media blasts and shocking headlines about asteroids hitting Earth. This is especially the case since 3I-Atlas has caught everybody's interest. The potentially Manhattan-sized comet, or, according to some, an interstellar spaceship, that's closing in on Earth, has caught the interest of readers as some scientists issued their beliefs that the comet was doing things that a comet couldn't. 

Has anybody noticed how nobody in the government has directly spoken about Apophis for quite some time? Of the two, unless 3I-Atlas makes a shift in trajectory, Apophis is still the one that will get closest to Earth. Why don't we hear much about it from the government? It will, in fact, shoot between our planet and the satellites we have come to depend on.

With Apophis on a trajectory to shoot between the planet and the satellites surrounding the planet, even at 18,000 miles, it poses a risk to Earth. At given points in its journey, the Apophis asteroid could strike an existing satellite. The majority of satellites are designed to burn up if they make reentry into our atmosphere, but some of the older ones floating around up there were designed before the materials used today existed. 

Apophis is still three and a half years away from its long-anticipated close approach to Earth. And while many believe it will be nothing more than an excellent opportunity to see a rare event in our history, if it changes course, it could cause an imminent threat to untold numbers of people. 

A look at what Apophis would do if it hits Earth shows the potential global effects. Considering the force it would hit with, the energy released would be approximately 100,000 times the explosive power of the Hiroshima bomb. Depending on the location it hits, this would kill potentially millions, but definitely into the thousands, unless it strikes an isolated area. 

The crater of a land-based strike would be several kilometers wide, and the dust would cover the atmosphere, potentially causing a mini-nuclear winter. Imagine the end of global warming as global cooling would likely occur for months, if not years. 

An impact in the ocean would be equally as devastating as the tsunamis could be potentially one hundred miles high and travel at over 1,000 miles per hour. 

The Simple Truth

It happened before, it will happen again. With all the advancements in technology, there's no real way to stop an Apophis-sized or larger asteroid from striking the Earth. While the threats of such an event are predictable with current science, doing anything about a planetary threat remains in the theoretical and testing stages. 

The same goes for 3I-Atlas. It doesn't matter what theoretical scientists believe explains the oddities of 3I-Atlas. If it is indeed aliens and they're on their way to visit Earth, there's little we can do about it, and likely will screw up how we deal with it under the current leadership of Earth. It is a potentially apocalyptic event, or the greatest thing ever to happen to modern man. Some of the smartest people in human history have gone with it being a horrific encounter, as their answers to why aliens would come here are to pillage resources or dominate our kind. 

With the current leadership of the United States unable to deal with illegal immigration in a way that doesn't catch mountains of blowback, could we even get our leaders to deal with uninvited guests from another world? 

Likely, it's a comet we just don't understand. It did cross into our system from a neighboring system, and that means it's an interesting time for scientists to study an intergalactic visitor. Other than that, there's no guarantee it will mean much to you or me.