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To: Paladin2

Plenty of time for something to hit it causing course change.
Makes you wonder why it hasn’t happened yet.
So many opportunities .


6 posted on 01/09/2013 9:58:51 PM PST by Morris70
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To: Morris70

Still, why not go skiing in April and do your taxes later?


7 posted on 01/09/2013 10:01:02 PM PST by Paladin2
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To: Morris70
Makes you wonder why it hasn’t happened yet.

You raise an interesting point. Right now its orbit intersects, very nearly, the orbit of earth, and the question is one of timing ... being at the same place at the same time along two linear tracks. If this situation were to persist indefinitely, it would have to hit after, say, a few hundred "opportunities", amounting to tens or hundreds of thousands of years, as I guess.

However, the orbit of the earth precesses, as does that of Apophis, presumably, and as their aphelions move, the orbital intersection is eliminated for some much lengthier period of time, so you have this layering effect, with periodic recurrences of eras of periodic close approaches.

Beyond that I assume there are other variations, or "accidents" which create or alter this scenario. Anyway, it seems like we would be doing our distant posterity, if such is fated, a big favor if we would take care of this sucker.

12 posted on 01/09/2013 11:06:54 PM PST by dr_lew
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