Is there really going to be an astroid that will destroy the world in 2036?

Question

If it's not in 2036, what year?

Answer 1

in 2029 an asteroid named apophis will come VERY close to us... it will not hit us in 2029... but there's a 'keyhole' in space that if it passes through, the gravity of the planet will pull on the asteroid just enough to set it up so that when it comes again, in 7 years (2036) it will hit us...

we won't know until the end of 2029 whether it will hit us or not.

intresting tidbit, both times the asteroid come to us is on friday the 13th.. lol

Answer 2

The astroid in question is called Apophis. In 2029 it'll pass closer to the Earth than any other similar object known in human history. If it hits a small spot in space called the key hole, then it will enter a degrading orbit and in 2036 impact with the Earth.

There is about a 1 in 40,000 chance that the asteroid will impact the earth. Most astronomers agree that it will not.

Answer 3

to correct some people who have answered so far, there is a 1 in 400 chance, not 40,000, that the asteroid will run into the earth. a german 12 year old proved NASA wrong with the calculations. its still an extremely small chance that it will hit though

Answer 4

2012... is what i heard...

Answer 5

You're thinking of 99942 Apophis.

Initially, it was calculated that there was a 2.7% chance it would hit the Earth in 2029.  Additional observations eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029.  But there was still the possibility that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational "keyhole" (a tiny region in space no more than about 400 meters across) that would set it up for an impact in April  2036.  

Additional observations of its trajectory showed it would miss that keyhole - as of October 19, 2006, the probability of impact in 2036 was about 1 in 45,000.  Another date in  2037 was also suggested (the probability for impact is about 1 in 12.3 million).

So I would say that the chances of that asteroid doing any damage to the Earth are less than the chances of winning the lottery - not zero, but not good.

Answer 6

99942 Apophis (pronounced /əˈpoʊfɪs/, previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a relatively large probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029. However there remained a possibility that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a precise region in space no more than about 400 meters across, that would set up a future impact on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept the asteroid at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006. It broke the record for the highest level on the Torino Scale, being, for only a short time, a level 4, before it was lowered.[5]

Additional observations of the trajectory of Apophis revealed the keyhole would likely be missed, and on August 5, 2006 Apophis was lowered to a Level 0 on the Torino Scale. As of October 19, 2006, the impact probability for April 13, 2036, was calculated as 1 in 45,000. An additional impact date in 2037 was also identified; the impact probability for that encounter was calculated as 1 in 12.3 million.