makc wrote:So, wait,
neufer wrote:
will it hit Venus instead?
No: Both Apophis & Venus have orbital inclinations of about 3.33º but...
they are cocked in nearly opposite directions and thus miss by ~ 0.1 radians ~ 10 million kilometers.
Note, however:
Code: Select all
2921 days = 13 Venus orbits of 224.7 days
2912 days = 9 Apophis orbits of 323.587 days
so Venus may well be responsible for defining the current Apophis orbit.
After the 2029 close Earth/Moon encounter Apophis will have a slightly shorter orbit:
Code: Select all
2556.8 days = 7 Earth orbits of 365.256 days
2556.8 days = 8 Apophis orbits of ~319.6 days
The previous uncertainty of the
post 2029 Apophis orbital period
was probably the main concern about the Easter Sunday 2036 encounter.