Actually, "nothing to see here. Move along folks.." is pretty close to the mark. On Friday the thirteenth in 2029 (no kidding) when Apophis passes by the earth, it must pass thru a 600 meter (667 yard) 'window' in order to strike the Earth in 2036 (again, on Friday the thirteenth). Long before 2029 we will know whether this will happen.
If so, the plan is to rendezvous with Aphophis in 2029 (or before). At this point, the very slight gravational tug of the spacecraft will be enough to change Apophos's orbit to miss us.
It really doesn't matter -- psychologists have shown that we may ACT as though we have free will. This is sufficient because the decision to act as though we choose our actions directs our behavior.
For example, I may suffer from a psychosis but I may choose to act NOT crazy. As difficult as it may be for me to do this, if I know the role, I can do it.
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Actually, "nothing to see here. Move along folks.." is pretty close to the mark. On Friday the thirteenth in 2029 (no kidding) when Apophis passes by the earth, it must pass thru a 600 meter (667 yard) 'window' in order to strike the Earth in 2036 (again, on Friday the thirteenth). Long before 2029 we will know whether this will happen. If so, the plan is to rendezvous with Aphophis in 2029 (or before). At this point, the very slight gravational tug of the spacecraft will be enough to change Apophos's orbit to miss us.
It really doesn't matter -- psychologists have shown that we may ACT as though we have free will. This is sufficient because the decision to act as though we choose our actions directs our behavior. For example, I may suffer from a psychosis but I may choose to act NOT crazy. As difficult as it may be for me to do this, if I know the role, I can do it.