Can Trojan asteroids collide with Earth?
Trojans are asteroids that share an orbit with a planet near stable points in front of or behind the planet. Because they constantly lead or follow in the same orbit as the planet, they never can collide with it.
Is there an asteroid that will hit Earth?
On average, an asteroid the size of Apophis (370 metres) is expected to impact Earth once in about 80,000 years….99942 Apophis.
| Model of 99942 Apophis's shape, assuming the entire surface is of a similar composition. | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Roy A. Tucker David J. Tholen Fabrizio Bernardi |
What would happen if Earth was hit by an asteroid?
Scientists estimate it would take an asteroid about 7 to 8 miles (11 to 12 kilometers) wide crashing into the Earth. Once it made impact, it would create a tremendous dust plume that would envelope the entire planet, block out the sun and raise temperatures where the asteroid made impact.
Do all planets have Trojans?
Although Trojan asteroids have been discovered for Mars (4 to date, 1 at L4 and 3 at L5) and Neptune (8 Trojans, 6 at L4 and 2 at L5) and even Earth (1 Trojan at L4), the term 'Trojan asteroid' generally refers to the asteroids accompanying Jupiter.
Does Earth have any Trojans?
An Earth trojan is an asteroid that orbits the Sun in the vicinity of the Earth–Sun Lagrangian points L4 (leading 60°) or L5 (trailing 60°), thus having an orbit similar to Earth's. Only two Earth trojans have so far been discovered.
What happens if an asteroid hits the moon?
If the 400-meter-wide asteroid were to impact the moon, it would kick up enough dust — and that dust would moving at a high enough speed — for a small quantity to escape the moon's gravity and coast all the way to Earth, 240,000 miles away, Yeomans said.
How big of an asteroid would it take to destroy the Earth?
Ultimately, scientists estimate that an asteroid would have to be about 96 km (60 miles) wide to completely and utterly wipe out life on our planet.
What would happen if the Moon was hit by an asteroid?
The Moon is very big, and any small object hitting it would have very little effect on its motion around the Earth, because the Moon's own momentum would overwhelm that of the impact. Most asteroid collisions would result in large craters and little else; even the largest asteroid known, Ceres, wouldn't budge the Moon.