People are afraid of space. Most of these fears are caused by multiple films about the collision of the planet with an asteroid, which has global consequences and threatens the extinction of our civilization. Also, the constant forecasts of scientists about approaching asteroids and meteorites make the faint of heart dig underground bunkers. Today we look at known cases of such collisions and the possibility of such collisions in the future.
New hypotheses about the origin of the Moon
Scientists in Switzerland recently stunned the media with a statement that the Moon was formed due to the collision of the Earth with a large rogue planet.
The planetary collision, they say, happened over four billion years ago. An object the size of Mars crashed into the Earth, and "fluff and feathers" flew from the earth in different directions. Several fragments united, creating a new celestial body - the Earth's eternal satellite, the Moon.
Andreas Roifes, a scientist at the University of Switzerland, painted the situation like this: the collision of the planets occurred at high speed, and more thanfive hundred thousand pieces. But only ten thousand of them became the Moon, and the rest of them flew away from the orbit from a large force of impact, so we do not see them.
Why is there such an assumption?
The fact is that scientists have long puzzled over the origin of the moon. Recent studies of samples from great depths of the satellite have shown that the rock is similar to the composition of the Earth. Hence the hypothesis appeared that only a collision of the Earth with a planet could create a new cosmic body due to broken pieces.
Space "monster"
In 2004, scientists began to spend a lot of time studying the brown dwarf, called the complex name "Planet 2M1207". Previously, it was assumed that it is in close proximity to another space object - the smaller 2M1207b. It was believed that the second, like the Moon, is simply a satellite of an older planet, but recent clear images have shown that this is one planet.
That is, there were originally two of them, but they managed to grow together and now live together. This "Sweet couple" was created by a very recent collision of planets, which took place literally the day before yesterday by cosmic standards, and by our earthly standards, several tens of thousands of years have passed since that momentous day.
Their "union" can be seen with a telescope in the constellation Centavir. The appearance of such a "monster" has become a whole event for astronomers, so they are still studyingdetails of the "accident on the space road".
So a planetary collision is a possible tragedy. It once happened on Earth, fortunately not yet populated. If this happens again, then not a single insect will remain here: the oceans will go out of their borders, and maybe evaporate altogether due to the highest temperature of the Earth's surface caused by the impact.
2017 is the last year for our civilization?
The Americans have taken up their own again. There was a dispute between these scientists: will our planet die in October 2017, or will the catastrophe pass us again?
Presumably on October 12 of this year, the asteroid TS4 will migrate in the immediate vicinity of the Earth. They say that its size exceeds the Statue of Liberty itself, so if he decides to "look into our light", then there will be a lot of this light. The consequences threaten several thousand people, which will exceed the scale of the tragedy in Chelyabinsk in 2013, when more than 1200 people were injured as a result of the fall of a foreign body on the territory of the metropolis.
But that's half the trouble. Another scientist certifies that TC4 will pass by, but we will have to meet the giant Nibiru, or, as it was also called, planet X. The collision of two planets, that is, Earth and Nibiru, should also take place in October, only the date of arrival of the space guest has not yet known.
The scientist only said that on October 5 it will completely close the Sun from earthlings, flying in the constellation Virgo. He says that the consequences of the collision will be terrible,so it's time to dig bunkers, stock up on food and water. This is necessary in order to survive!
Earth is under the gun in 2029
In April 2029, the Earth will again become the target of an asteroid. This time, Apophis-99942 will approach us, its dimensions are supposedly between 400 and 600 meters in diameter. A little, but a lot for a disaster to happen.
It will travel between 30,000 and 40,000 kilometers from Earth, so something will happen: in the best case, near-Earth space stations will be damaged, and in the worst case, a collision with the planet.
The orbit of the impending body passes between us and the Moon, and this, as Sergey Smirnov, a senior researcher, says, is very bad. The thing is that the situation will resemble a chip floating between two moving ships. And in which direction this chip will be thrown back by waves is not clear.
Smashing an asteroid in space is also not possible, since its exact size and composition of the rock is not known, so it is impossible to find a suitable "weapon".
In any case, do not panic ahead of time, because scientists have predicted the end of the world many times due to the collision of our planet with another, but not a single prediction has come true yet.
