Asteroid Apophis accelerates from sunlight as scientists recalculate the likelihood of… – AlKhaleej Today

Astronomers say they need to keep an eye on this erdnaher Asteroid Apophis to see how dangerous the space rock is to our planet during a narrow pass in 2068. But dont panic: the likelihood of an impact still seems very small. Under certain circumstances, the sun can heat an asteroid unevenly, causing the space rock to radiate thermal energy asymmetrically. The result can be tiny pressure in a particular direction an effect called Yarkovsky acceleration that can change the path of one Asteroid through…

Click here to view the original article.