Only 37 Fridays The 13th
Left Before Doomsday
Today is Friday the 13th
and according to the
superstitious there are
only 37 Fridays the 13th
left before the world
comes to an end with the
impact of Apophis on
Earth on April Friday
13, 2029.
Apophis is a near-Earth
asteroid that caused a
brief period of concern
in December 2004 because
initial observations
indicated a relatively
large probability (up to
2.7%) that it would
strike the Earth in
2029.
Additional observations
provided improved
predictions that
eliminated the
possibility of an impact
on Earth or the Moon in
2029. However there
remained a possibility
that during the 2029
close encounter with
Earth, Apophis would
pass through a
gravitational keyhole, a
precise region in space
no more than about 400
meters across, that
would set up a future
impact on April 13,
2036.
This possibility kept
the asteroid at Level 1
on the Torino impact
hazard scale until
August 2006. It broke
the record for the
highest level on the
Torino Scale, being, for
only a short time, a
level 4, before it was
lowered
Additional observations
of the trajectory of
Apophis revealed the
keyhole would likely be
missed, and on August 5,
2006 Apophis was lowered
to a Level 0 on the
Torino Scale. As of
October 19, 2006, the
impact probability for
April 13, 2036, was
calculated as 1 in
45,000. An additional
impact date in 2037 was
also identified; the
impact probability for
that encounter was
calculated as 1 in 12.3
million.
Most experts agree that
Apophis warrants closer
scrutiny, and to that
end, in February 2008
the Planetary Society
awarded $50,000 in prize
money to companies and
students who submitted
designs for space probes
that would put a
tracking device on or
near the asteroid
Friday the 13th is
considered a day of bad
luck in English, French
and Portuguese-speaking
countries around the
world. Similar
superstitions exist in
some other traditions.
In Greece, Romania and
Spanish-speaking
countries, for example,
it is Tuesday the 13th
that is considered
unlucky. In Italy, it is
Friday the 17th.
The fear of Friday the
13th is called
paraskavedekatriaphobia,
a word derived from the
concatenation of the
Greek words Paraskeví (Παρασκευή)
(meaning Friday), and
dekatreís (δεκατρείς)
(meaning thirteen),
attached to phobía (φοβία)
(meaning fear). The term
is a specialized form of
triskaidekaphobia, a
simple phobia (fear) of
the number thirteen
appearing in any case. |
