The asteroid Apophis The Earth expected in 2068 represent virtually no risk to the planet, if there were no significant changes in its orbit until then.
It is the opinion of Sergei Naroyenkov, principal investigator of Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in a video uploaded to the YouTube page of Roscosmos.
"The media recently speculated that there is likely to be a collision (in Apophis and the Earth) in 2068. I am absolutely certain that a collision will not occur at that time. The risk of collision with Apophis will remain small for the next hundred years, "said Naroyenkov, quoted by TASS.
However, he believes that the orbit of Apophis may change slightly after 2029, when the asteroid address the Earth again
"In 2029, Apophis 38 thousand kilometers from the Earth. The latest data we have at our disposal was obtained in 2015. After 2029, we will see how its orbit changed after the approximation with the Earth. Then it will be possible to make predictions about the asteroid "Naroyenkov said.
Earlier, scientists at the St. Petersburg State University said in a report that Apophis could hit the Earth in 2068. They believe that this could happen if the asteroid follow a path that is 44 million kilometers from the Earth in 2044, 0.76 million kilometers in 2051 and five million kilometers in 2060.
In 2006, the principal researcher at the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Vyacheslav Ivashkin, and the assistant of the State Technical University of Moscow, Kirill Stikhno, modeled the effects of impact in Apophis at the Earth. The diameter of the asteroid was then estimated at 270 meters.
It was envisaged that the asteroid would leave a six-kilometer crater and cause buildings and cracks to collapse on the surface of the Earth. Researchers are now confident that the Apophis It is greater than 300 meters.
More news on MSN:
In pictures: fascinating asteroids
The asteroids, also known as smaller planets, are small rocky bodies that float between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. They are made mostly of materials (metal or rock) that are left over from the formation of the inner solar system.
Vesta
The asteroid Vesta was discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers in 1807. It is about the length of Arizona and its surface is made of frozen lava.
Giant crater on the south pole of the asteroid – 460 kilometers in diameter and 13 kilometers deep – has aroused the interest of scientists worldwide. According to NASA, the remnants of the crater's fall contribute to nearly five percent of all meteorites found on Earth.
Ceres and Vesta (photo) are the two biggest asteroids in this belt. Vesta is rocky, while Ceres is believed to have large amounts of ice.
An exhibition of the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada shows 30 different specimens of Vesta, making it Vesta's most complete collection of meteorites.
(Photo) A ROM technician inspects a fragment of meteorite that probably came from the asteroid Vesta.
Eros
The asteroid Eros, the first to be orbited and landed by a spacecraft, was discovered on August 13, 1898 by the German astronomer Gustav Witt at the Urania Observatory in Berlin. It is the name of the god of love in Greek mythology.
Lutetia
Officially named Lutetia, this asteroid was discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt from the balcony of his apartment in Paris in 1852. Lutetia is the Latin name for Paris.
It is believed that Lutetia, little known, is 83.3 miles (134 kilometers) in diameter.
Ida
The asteroid Ida, discovered by the Galileo spacecraft in 1993, is 32 miles (52 km) long and has a small moon, Dactyl.
Ida's gravitational field is so weak that an astronaut could jump from one end to the other in a single jump. Also the moon of Ida Dactyl (photo, right) is the first confirmed satellite of an asteroid.
Ida and Gaspra were visited by the space probe to Jupiter Galileo as part of their secondary missions. The mission was a response to a new NASA policy of directing organizers to consider carrying out asteroid reconnaissance flights across all spacecraft across the belt.
Gaspra
The Gaspra asteroid bears the name of a holiday resort on the Crimean peninsula. Interestingly, many of the asteroid craters have names that come from resorts and spas around the world.
About once a year, a car-sized meteorite (a piece of an asteroid) falls into Earth's atmosphere. However, the meteorite disintegrates before reaching the ground.
(Photo) Sample of a large fragment of an asteroid that pierced a 160-km-wide hole on the surface of the Earth in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.
