An asteroid named 99942 Apophis will whiz by Earth on Friday. Rest assured, there is no chance for Apophis to strike Earth during this flyby.
The more-than 1,000-foot-wide space rock will safely pass Earth at around 8:15 p.m. ET, traveling at a distance of about 10 million miles away, according to NASA.
But on April 13, 2029, on its next orbit, it will be closer to Earth than our weather satellites. If you’re superstitious, that’s on a Friday the 13th.
The asteroid was named after the ancient Egyptian God of Chaos. Apophis was the enemy of the sun god Ra, in ancient Egyptian religion. The sun was Ra's great barge which sailed through the sky from dawn to dusk and then descended into the underworld. As it navigated through the darkness of night, it was attacked by Apophis who sought to kill Ra and prevent sunrise.
The asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004, by Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.
After Apophis was discovered in 2004, the asteroid was given a 2.7 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2029, causing a great deal of attention.
It also, for a time, was given a small chance of hitting Earth in 2036. Additional observations have shown it will not hit Earth in 2029 or in 2036.
Nevertheless, in 2029, Apophis will come much closer to Earth, as it be closer than some satellites. This will likely spark a great deal of public interest. The asteroid is expected to be within 19,000 miles of Earth.
For reference, the moon is 238,900 miles away. GOES weather satellites continually view the planet from approximately 22,300 miles above Earth.
Will Apophis hit Earth? Not anytime soon. According to The Planetary Society, the asteroid will definitely miss Earth in 2029 and 2036, and its highest probability of impact occurs in 2068, with odds of just 1 in 150,000.
Radar images have shown Apophis measures about 1,500 feet long, equivalent to about 5 football fields and taller than the Empire State Building in New York City. It is also likely egg-shaped.
If Apophis did hit Earth, it would cause widespread destruction up to a couple of hundred of miles from its impact site. The energy released would be equal to tens to hundreds of nuclear weapons.
In the 2029 pass, Apophis will be visible from Europe, Africa, and western Asia looking like a somewhat bright star (magnitude 3.1) moving rapidly across the sky.
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