Asteroid ~ 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)

(near miss asteroid measuring around 320 metres, which will pass close to Earth in 2029)

Imagine a rock large enough to span Douglas Harbour to the Tower of Refuge. That’s big. Now imagine that same rock arriving with a closing speed of some 12.5 km per second, or 28,000 miles per hour. Or in local terms, Ramsey to Douglas in 2 seconds. Now that’s scary, even for TT riders! Such would be the energy released that not only would the Isle of Man be wiped off the face of the Earth, but fairly serious consequences for the rest of the planet would follow. Fortunately, this one will miss the Earth, but you can witness the ‘eye of the asteroid’ view of the final minute of an imaginary asteroid as it hurtles Earthwards at that speed. QuickTime movie (xx MB) created in Starry Night Digital Download 5.7.

The picture above is intended to be representative of the size of the asteroid only. Should such an object ever impact the Earth, it would never be seen other than as a momentary blinding light. It would not be heard as it approached for it would be travelling many times faster than the speed of sound, and there would be an enormous bow/shockwave accompanying the impact. Map of Douglas Harbour & Tower of Refuge.

NASA scientists believe that an asteroid measuring between 6 to 12 miles in diameter, impacted Earth some 64.98 million years ago, resulting in half a year of total darkness, and the loss of half of all species including the dinosaurs. Terrestrial Impact Craters.