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Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed in astronomy, but scientists don’t expect the asteroid 99942-Apophis to come into contact with the Earth (or any other celestial bodies in our solar system, for that matter).

A blog post from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the California Institute of Technology notes that on Friday, April 13, 2029, 99942-Apophis will “cruise harmlessly by Earth, about 19,000 miles (31,000 kilometers) above the surface.”

You read that right: An asteroid will come incredibly close to the Earth on Friday the 13th. If you’re superstitious, that seems like bad news, but astronomers aren’t worried.

“That’s within the distance [of] some of our spacecraft that orbit Earth,” the blog notes. “The international asteroid research community couldn't be more excited.”

Note that they use the word “excited,” not “terrified.”

"The Apophis close approach in 2029 will be an incredible opportunity for science," Marina Brozović, a radar scientist at JPL, said in a statement. "We'll observe the asteroid with both optical and radar telescopes. With radar observations, we might be able to see surface details that are only a few meters in size."

Without radar, telescopes, or other tools, Apophis will still be impressive. It will be visible to the naked eye and will look like a star moving across the sky. From our perspective, it will become visible above Australia, then move across the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the U.S. West Coast in the early hours of the evening.

Apophis was discovered in June 2004, and later that year, a group of Australian astronomers spotted it a second time and calculated a 2.7 percent chance of a collision with Earth. However, subsequent calculations have ruled out that possibility for the 2029 flyby.

What about future flybys? Speaking to Newsweek, astronomer Davide Farnocchia put the chances of a collision after 2060 at “less than 1 in 100,000.” That’s still incredibly close by the standards of astronomy, but it’s not something to worry about.

If Apophis did come into contact with Earth, it could cause devastating damage, but at 1,110-feet wide, it’s not large enough to cause a global extinction. Asteroids only pose an existential threat to life on Earth when they’re several miles wide; at those sizes, they could throw up enough dust from the planet’s surface to block out sunlight, preventing plant growth and causing global temperature changes. Scientists believe that the object that contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs was about seven to eight miles wide.

Apophis isn’t a threat at all—at least, it won’t be in 2029. If you’ve got clear skies that night, count yourself lucky and watch the show (and don’t worry about taking out extra insurance).

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Todd L Ross

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Q: Will the Apophis "God of Chaos" asteroid hit the Earth in 2029?
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Is the moon the closest object in space to earth true?

Except for meteors, The Moon is, generally, the closest natural object in space to the Earth. Usually. On rare occasions, small asteroids zip by the Earth somewhat closer to Earth than the Moon is - and occasionally, a LOT closer. There was an asteroid in late 2009 that passed by the Earth at a distance of less than 100,000 miles. In 2029 and again in 2037, the asteroid Apophis will pass by the Earth at a distance of under 20,000 miles. If we include meteoroids, then no. Every day, the Earth is struck by tens of thousands of asteroids, and there are probably hundreds of thousands more that missed by some fairly small distance.


What are the nearby asteroids that can hit the earth?

Well I guess any asteroid could hit Earth.For a complete list of NEO - see related link .There are several hundred asteroids that could hit Earth, most of them have not been named, or even discovered yet.


What year has the terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger transported back in time from in the 1984 film?

Schwarzenegger plays the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 .


When is a big asteroid next predicted to hit earth?

We don't know when the next big asteroid strike on earth will be. But we are sure it will happen. Sooner or later. There will always be a number of predictions out there as regards when we'll get hit again, but until you hear it from a group of astronomers who have done their homework, it would be wise not to worry too much about it. Oh, and those "seers" who say one is coming? They'll be passing the hat or otherwise expecting payment. Little rocks from space hit the earth all the time. But the history of the earth clearly shows that every once in a while, a very large rock from space slams into us. The damage is so great that large numbers of individual plants and animals are wiped out. Additionally, whole groups of species are killed off indirectly in the aftermath of the collision, and this owing to the damage to the biosphere the blast causes. We think the dinosaurs were terminated as a result of the effects of such a blast. We are starting to look for these near earth objects now. We've got extra eyes on the skys to see if we can spot them. We're crunching numbers all the time on rocks we spot to see if any are coming uncomfortably close. But we haven't seen the next big one with our name on it. Yet.In fact, many asteroids hit the earth every year!Most of them are small enough to burn up in the atmosphere though, and the few that reach the surface are too small to cause significant damage so there is no reason to worry.Big asteroids that can significantly damage our environment or kill many people, plants and animals do hit the planet from time to time, but the chances that we would not see it coming many years before and send up a rocket to "nudge it out of the way" are really really low.No, ateroids will hit earth when toilets fly!


Why are astronomers interested in mass extinctions on Earth?

Astronomers know that just as large objects from space have cause catastrphes on Earth in the past they are likely to do so again in the future. By finding such objects and calculating their paths they learn which ones have paths that intersect Earth's orbit. By calculating when and where that will happen they discover which ones are a threat to Earth. With such advance warning they can send a spacecraft to the object to change its path so it is no longer a threat. For example, astronomers know that a large object will pass close to Earth on Friday the 13th of April 2029. It will miss Earth, but it will be so close that it will be closer than our communication satelites.

Related questions

How many life species will died out when if apophis hit the earth in 2029 or 2036?

about 60 or 70% of life species plus humans will died out when if the asteroid apophis when if hit the earth that asteroid is size of manhattan same size which killed off the dinosaurs


What is the name of the asteroid that will be near earth in 2029?

99942 Apophis is an asteroid where initial observations indicated a small probability (up to 2.7%) that it would strike the Earth in 2029.Later observations concluded that the asteroid would miss the Earth.The chances are now set at a one in 3 million that it will hit Earth.


What will happen in 2029?

99942 Apophis is a 270m diameter near Earth asteroid that was thought to be on a collision course with Earth. It caused a panic in 2004 as it was thought that it might hit the earth in 2029. New calculations estimate that the asteroid will now most likely miss.


Is 99942 Apophis a comet or meteor?

Neither; Apophis is an asteroid, and not especially large. It would bear no mention at all, except for the fact that on Friday, April 13, 2029 it will come within about 20,000 miles of the Earth, closer than the orbit of geosynchronous satellites. But it will miss.


When will apophis hit earth?

The asteroid 99942 Apophis was set for a possible future impact on April 13, 2036.However, this data was based on predictions that it would collide with Earth in 2004 and then predictions placed the date as 2029. Further observational data discounted this, and the 2036 date was set.The chances that the asteroid will strike the Earth is put as 1:250,000


What comet or asteroid will come close to the Earth in 2012?

Comets are difficult to predict; we currently know of no comets that will be visible in 2012, but new ones are discovered periodically. No asteroids that we are aware of will approach the Earth very closely before April 13, 2029, when the asteroid Apophis will come fairly close the Earth. (But it will miss.)


Which asteroid comes closer to the earth than any other?

The problem with naming a particular asteroid as the one that "comes closer than any other" is that we keep discovering new asteroids flying around that come even CLOSER. At one time, the asteroid "Eros" was the one described as coming closest, but that title may now go to the asteroid Apophis. Apophis will make a very close approach to the Earth on April 13 (Friday the 13th!) 2029, and again on April 13, 2036. The 2029 pass will bring Apophis closer to the Earth than many communications satellites!


Will apophis hit earth?

They don't think so, but it will be very close in 2029. There is more concern about the next time it comes by, but that's really not that far off, it will be in 2036. _____________________________________________ When Apophis comes close to Earth (and it will be VERY close on an astronomical scale - below the altitude of geosynchronous satellites!) on Friday, April 13, 2029, it WILL MISS. However, we cannot accurately predict PRECISELY how close it will come, and how the orbit of Apophis will be altered by the Earth's gravity. And when Apophis returns to near-Earth space, on Friday, April 13, 3036, there is a very small chance that it will strike the Earth. However, during the close pass in 2029, we will plant telemetry sensors and radar reflectors which will enable us to track it with perfect accuracy. And if we're smart - and nobody ever accused NASA of being smart! - we will also plant two very large nuclear weapons on Apophis. Then, several months later, when we've had time to calculate its orbit to see exactly where it will be in 2036, we can determine whether one or both of the weapons should be detonated to nudge Apophis into a safer orbit. And if it turns out that Apophis is not going to hit the Earth in 2036, then we can ignore them and watch the pretty asteroid scoot by. And in 2050 or so, we ought to be able to capture the asteroid and move it into a parking orbit, perhaps in the L4 or L5 points on the Moon's orbit. Just think; if this all works out, your grandchildren may live in the Apophis Station!


Asteroid headed towards U.S.?

There is one known asteroid which has some slight probability of colliding with the Earth. (There are no doubt many things on a collision course with Earth of which we are blissfully unaware.) This asteroid is called Apophis. It is a space rock which will pass close to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. Apophis will not hit the Earth on that pass, but the worry is that there will be some gravitational perturbation that might cause Apophis to come closer than expected on Friday, April 13, 2037. Current calculations indicate that the chance of a collision is about one chance in 40,000. There are other rocks in space that will occasionally come close. Someday, one of them will hit us. We don't know when.


Will an asteroid hit sydney in the year 2029?

Chances are, no. There was some concern in 2004 that the asteroid Apophis might hit earth in 2029, but it is now known that the object will narrowly miss earth, though there is still some uncertainty of a few thousand miles as to how close it will come. There is still a very slight chance that it could hit earth in 2036.Even if we did predict that an asteroid would hit earth, we could not predict the path so precisely as to whether it would hit a particular city.


What would happen if apophis collided with earth?

The asteroid Apophis, named for the villain in the Star Gate: SG1 TV series, will make close approaches to Earth on Friday, April 13th, 2029 (Get it? Friday the 13th?) and again in 2036. It is very unlikely to affect the Earth directly, but is likely to cause a lot of needless panic in the months preceding its closest approach. NASA has calculated that Apophis has a 1-in-45,000 chance of actually striking the Earth in 2036, but it will miss completely in 2029.


Is aphopis coming to earth?

Apophis will pass near the Earth on April 13, 2029 within the orbits of geosynchronous communication satellites. It will not come closer to Earth than 19,400 miles.