Comments by "H. de Jong" (@h.dejong2531) on "Asteroid Apophis is Coming Back and NASA has Confirmed its Bold Plan" video.

  1.  @The1stDukeDroklar  I've done orbital calculations myself, by hand. The variables you're talking about are obtained through observation, and each time we observe the asteroid, we get more accurate data, which is why the probability of an impact keeps getting smaller over time.
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  2. That's not faith, it's knowledge it won't hit us. We've been observing the asteroid for years, and every observation improves our knowledge of its trajectory, which allows us to reduce the margin of error on calculations of its future trajectory.
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  3.  @mobilityscooter7587  Physics is physics. Without drag to complicate things, orbital calculation is just a lot of iterations of the same formula.
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  4.  @The1stDukeDroklar  The math can be done by hand, if necessary. The calculations are pretty simple.
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  5.  @nataliealice05  Sure, Earth has been hit before. But that doesn't matter. We can observe the asteroid, find out its trajectory, calculate where it will be the next time it comes near Earth and find out if it will hit us or not.
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  6. We regularly observe Apophis, and every observation improves our knowledge of its orbit, reducing the margin of error in calculations of its future path. The 2032 impact possibility was based on earlier calculations with a larger margin of error. New observations have allowed us to rule out an impact in 2032.
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  7. Apophis weighs 60 million tons. Our entire nuclear arsenal would be needed to split it up into smaller chunks. Even then, most of those chunks would still hit Earth and cause massive damage. You'd have to make sure every chunk is diverted into an orbit that will miss Earth indefinitely, which is not something we can do today.
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  8. Apophis was discovered in 2004.
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  9. Do look up, and measure Apophis' orbit, and you can see that NASA is telling the truth.
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  10. Any astronomer can check NASA's claims. NASA is not in a position to lie about this.
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  11. Have you ever tried to disassemble a 60- million ton mountain like that? It takes forever.
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  12. No. In 2036, Apophis will pass us at a closest distance of 50 million km.
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  13. That is incorrect. Apophis has no chance of impacting Earth in the next 100 years.
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  14. Astronomers all over the world can observe the asteroid and calculate its trajectory. NASA is not in a position to cover anything up.
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  15.  @nightshadowblade  Incorrect. As of 2021, we know for certain it won't hit any time in the next 100 years.
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