apus one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids ever discovered is coming for a visit in 20129 it will approach our planet at a distance of just 32,000 km or about 19,900 Mi passing below the orbits of geostationary satellites and Shining as brightly as a satellite itself this event will make it visible to billions of naked eye observers worldwide a rare occurrence that occurs on once every few thousand years even more exciting is that a NASA mission is already on its way to study the asteroid up close however one might wonder why ground-based observations alone are
insufficient for studying this asteroid or why we are sending a spacecraft to investigate a Celestial body that was once considered the most dangerous asteroid finally and most importantly is there cause for concern resembling a peanut shell in shape apus was first discovered in 2004 when astronomers located at approximately 170 million kilom from Earth initially designated as 2004 mn4 this 340 M Wide Rock didn't seem noteworthy however as subsequent analysis indicated a 1 in 37 chance of it colliding with Earth in 2029 it captured widespread attention a 1 in37 probability was the highest ever calculator for
a significant asteroid impact in recorded history this is when the asteroid earned its name apus after the Egyption God of destruction and became known as the most dangerous asteroid ever discovered in March 2021 apus conducted a distant flyby of Earth allowing astronomers to utilize powerful radar observations to refine its orbit around the sun precisely to the relief of everyone concerned the updated analysis definitively ruled out any significant Earth impact events for the next Century however there is a factor that cannot be ignored known as the aravi effect which arises from the interaction between the asteroid
and solar radiation when sunlight strikes a rotating asteroid the day side heats up as the asteroid turns the night side cools down and releases the Heat this exerts a small thrust on the asteroid which can change its direction over time the arov effect is challenging to model but it can make a big difference in determining where asteroids end up because we don't know exactly how the yovi effect will perturb ais's orbit we have limited knowledge of where it will be as it approaches Earth in the coming years scientists thus have to consider a range of
possible trajectories depending on how strongly the yovi effect is pushing on a pofus a few of these trajectories line up with regions of space called gravitational keyholes if Aus were to pass through a keyhole Earth's gravity would bend its path in just the right way to cause an impact on a subsequent orbit astronomers have been keeping an eye on the trajectory of aus since its Discovery ground-based observations and radar measurements indicate that the asteroid is slowly deviating from a purely gravitational orbit if this trend continues the possibility of an impact scenario in 2068 cannot be
entirely dismissed in other words there remains a slight chance that this massive asteroid May collide with our planet in the next 50 years the rovski effect is influenced by changes in an object's temperature due to radiation exposure asteroid composition and Stellar Wind among others this means we can only arrive at concrete conclusions if close and multiple observations are made and this is where NASA's Osiris Apex Mission comes into the picture to fill in the gaps the Osiris Apex is the same spacecraft that was launched in 2016 under the name Osiris Rex to collect samples from
the asteroid benu on October 20th 2020 it successfully touched down on benu Surface gathered a sample and later brought it back to Earth on September 24th 2023 the spacecraft released a capsule containing fragments of benu into Earth's atmosphere and this capsule then descended via parachute landing in Utah where the miss team eagerly awaited to recover the samples the benu sample is the largest asteroid sample ever that has been brought back to Earth however the journey for the spacecraft continued just 20 minutes after releasing the capsule containing the benu sample the spacecraft fired its thrusters beginning
a new Mission which we now refer to as Osiris Apex currently it is on route to rendevu with Aus more specifically Osiris Apex stands for Origins spectral interpretation resource identification and security apus Explorer just 1 hour after rofus completes its close approach to Earth on April 13th 2029 Osiris Apex will utilize Earth's gravity to enter an orbit around the asteroid it will conduct an in-depth study of aus for 18 months collecting valuable data unlike the case of benu Osiris Apex won't be able to collect a sample from Aus however it will approach the asteroid's surface
and employ its thrusters to execute a maneuver designed to expose aysis subsurface enabling researchers to gain insights into its physical and chemical composition over 1.5 years Osiris Apex will extensively map the asteroid surface this will allow Mission scientists to examine any notable changes brought about by os's brief interaction with Earth's gravitational influence even though tidal forces are relatively small they can still trigger minor landslides and uncover fresh material for study on the asteroid's surface Additionally the spacecraft will precisely determine the asteroid's orbital motion down to the meter scale this enhanced Precision will enable researchers to
predict ao's future trajectory accurately currently predictions extend only until 2116 but Osiris apex's measurements are expected to extend this forecast Horizon significantly that said Osiris Apex is not the sole spacecraft set to visit Aus several missions are also targeting the asteroid missions featuring smaller spacecraft such as Aus Pathfinder are scheduled for launch in 2025 2026 this spacecraft will execute the first ever close flyby of aus reaching the asteroid within approximately 1 year of its launch furthermore earlier this year NASA officials presented a proposal at the eth planetary defense conference to dispatch a swarm of tiny
spacecraft to investigate Aus a detailed study of aus will surely pave the way to better understanding several dangerous asteroids lurking around us these missions will act as a phenomenal step forward in advancing our knowledge of the behavior of aus thereby guiding us to develop effective defense mechanisms against such strikes before wrapping up this video I want you to think about something how often have you wondered about the Stars the vastness of space and our place in this universe it's fascinating right but where do you start if you want to really understand it that's where this
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