The present-day astronomy becomes more and more socially relevant and publicly and politically correct. It is no longer a pure observational science but rather a branch of knowledge with the world outlook which can predict our fate and future at the juncture of science, religion and philosophy. In the last few years its one of the most important achievements was a re-evaluation of the asteroid formerly known as 2004 MN4 which lost its provisional designation and acquired its permanent number 99942 and name Apophis.

In the ancient Egyptian mythology, this name was firmly associated with the demon spirit of evil and destruction that was determined to plunge the world forever into eternal darkness. In fact, it is the Greek name given to the Egyptian demon Apep, who was the enemy of light and order as well as a personification of evil and chaos. Depicted as a giant snake Apophis/Apep attacked the Sun God Ra when he made his way through the underworld during the evening hours. Solar eclipses were thought to be Apep’s few daytime attempts to swallow God Ra, who however always succeeded in cutting his way out of the snake’s belly. As the enemy of Ma’at, the ancient Egyptian concept of order and law, Apep represented the doom’s day for people and the end of the world. Astronomers reasoned this fitting name for such cosmic object based on a menace and a hazard which now hurtling towards the Earth from outer space.

Upon its discovery in 2004, Apophis was estimated to have a 2.9% chance of impacting the Earth in 2029. Additionally conducted astronomical measurements showed at a later stage that there was no impact risk at that time from the 390-meter diameter object, identified spectroscopically as a Sq type similar to LL chondritic meteorites. Nevertheless it will approach dangerously close our planet in 2036 which is now estimated to be a 1 in 800 year event for an object of that size. In this regard NASA predicts that an impact from Apophis will free more than 100,000 times the energy released in the nuclear blast over Hiroshima and 250,000 times in the mysterious explosion of the Tunguska meteorite in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. Hundred thousands of square kilometers would be directly affected by this humongous blast on a regional scale but the whole of the Earth would be shocked by multiple earthquakes and tsunamis and would see for many months the effects of a dust discharged into the atmosphere. It would lead to a regional cold snap and a general fall of temperature globally. Many species would extinct and life might never be the same. It could be the real Armageddon predicted in the Bible!

The Arecibo planetary radar telescope subsequently detected this asteroid at distances of 27-40 million km (0.192-0.268 AU) in 2005 and 2006. Polarization ratios indicated that Apophis appeared to be smoother than most near Earth objects (NEOs) at 13-cm scales. While trajectory knowledge of the object was substantially corrected by the Arecibo data, it is important to indicate a still substantial estimated chance of impact with the Earth in April 2036. With Apophis, probably, too close to the Sun to be measured by optical telescopes until 2011 and too distant for useful radar measurement until 2013, the underlying physics of its motion are thoroughly considered to better understand the hazard.

In mid-April 2029 Apophis will pass 22,600 miles (36,350 kilometers) from Earth – so close enough that it skirts the belt of orbiting geosynchronous satellites and will be visible to the unaided eye as a moving, magnitude 3.3, star-like point. Astronomers estimate that this space rock has a striking power equivalent 850 million tons of TNT, or more than 4 times the energy released when the Indonesian volcano Krakatoa erupted in 1883. But people on the Earth can stay calm because in 2029 there will be no chance for an impact at all. However when it passes near-by, the Earth’s gravity forces will inevitably change its trajectory and, if the asteroid hits a particular point in space called the key-hole, it might set on a hazardous collision course with our planet later in time. According to Pr. Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer from Queen’s University in Belfast, the chance of Apophis passing through the keyhole, a 600-metre patch of space, is 1 in 5,500 based on current information. Taking into account the aforementioned, the major threat could occur with the highest degree of probability (1 of 4,500 chances) in 2036 when the asteroid returns. Therefore, people of the Earth need to be prepared for it, still having 27 years at their disposal.

Experts in asteroids and meteorites at the Open University say: “It’s a question of when, not if, a near Earth object (NEO) collides with Earth. Many of the smaller objects break up when they reach the Earth’s atmosphere and have no impact. However, a NEO larger than 1km [wide] will collide with Earth every few hundred thousand years and a NEO larger than 6km, which could cause mass extinction, will collide with Earth every hundred million years. We are overdue for a big one.”

The most probable impact scenario occurs in 2036, off the Pacific coast of North America, and carries the potential of generating a 30-foot-high tsunami that could strike deadly the southern California. It will be a regional catastrophe when this area can be wiped out of the surface of Earth forever.

After 2029 the asteroid will undergo a cosmic makeover which will result in the following:

First, the asteroid’s orbit will be significantly altered. At the moment, Apophis belongs to the Aten group of asteroids, which circle the Sun inside Earth’s orbit. After April 13, 2029, the rock’s orbit will have changed enough to place it in the Apollo class – asteroids that actually cross Earth’s orbit.

Second, the encounter with Earth will drastically alter the object’s rotation rate. The latest calculations by a team led by Daniel Scheeres of the University of Michigan indicate that tides raised in Apophis by Earth’s gravity could result in a lengthening of the asteroid’s present 30-hour “daytime” by as much as 27 hours. There is a high probability of a speed-up as well. The 2029 encounter will provide astronomers with their first chance to watch the total disruption of an asteroid’s spinning state.

According to Dr. Scheeres and Dr. Dan Durda of the Southwest Research Institute, the tidal forces will inevitably strain the asteroid, causing “localized shifts” or quakes on its surface and within its interior. If the asteroid has a lower than expected density – less than half that of water (999.9 kg/m3 at 0 degrees C) – Apophis could be either reshaped or completely disrupted.

At the same time there is no shortage of ideas on how to deflect asteroids, which come from the scientific community, fiction writers, technicians as well as movie-makers. For instance, the Advanced Concepts Team at the European Space Agency has been involved for years in designing a range of satellites and rockets to nudge asteroids on a collision course for Earth into a different orbit. No technology or technical innovations have been left unconsidered, even potentially dangerous ideas such as nuclear powered spacecraft.

One of the most favored method is to catapult a spacecraft at an asteroid in order to modify its orbit and direction. European Space Agency (ESA) plans to test this idea with its Don Quixote mission which is an asteroid deflection precursor mission, designed to assess and validate the technology that one day could be used to deflect an asteroid threatening the Earth. It uses two spacecrafts , one of them, Hidalgo, will collide with the asteroid at high speed, while the other, Sancho, will measure the change in the object’s orbit. The actual probes might be launched in 2014-2016.The primary objective of the Don Quixote mission is to impact the target Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) and to be able to determine the deflection resulting from the impact. To achieve this, it will measure with extreme accuracy the asteroid’s position in space before and after impact. There is also a secondary objective, involving the so-called Autonomous Surface Package Deployment Engineering experiment (ASP-DeX). In this experiment a small device, an Autonomous Surface Package or ASP, would be released from the Orbiter spacecraft while it’s on orbit about the asteroid. It would then passively free-fall towards the asteroid surface after its release, and touchdown within a certain distance of a target landmark, most likely the crater resulting from the impact of the Hidalgo spacecraft.

Scientists at Strathclyde and Glasgow universities also began computer simulations to work out the feasibility analysis of changing the directions of asteroids on a collision course for Earth. The Russians are now too planning two missions to asteroids within the next 5 years to study their chemical structure, trajectories, behavior patterns in space and possible ways of their control. All this means that the international scientific community, decision-makers and world leaders are aware about NEA hazard and try to charter an integrated approach to this cosmic problem to avoid the possible apocalypses. Together people of different races and nationalities in various countries of the world will prevent Armageddon or apocalypses in the name of eternal Life.