![]() Some years, the asteroid isn’t observable because it appears too close to the sun, as seen from the Earth. But astronomers can determine the extent of these effects only after careful measurement of an asteroid’s positions over the course of years.Īnd observing this asteroid year after year isn’t as straightforward as you might think. And it can be changed by what’s called the Yarkovsky effect, a minor push on the asteroid, caused by sunlight.īoth are known effects. The fact is, an asteroid’s orbital path can be changed slightly, every time it passes near another astronomical object. It took several more years of studying this asteroid to learn it would not strike Earth in 2029. Probability of collision reduced by precision You can imagine the media frenzy that resulted. That same month, Apophis was moved to the top of the list of potentially hazardous asteroids. And they found it had a 2.7% chance of hitting the Earth in April 2029, on Friday the 13th. By December 2004, they had enough data to make a rough calculation of the future orbit of the asteroid. ![]() This fact quickly caught the attention of astronomers worldwide. In the course of its orbit, Apophis can pass very close to the Earth. Its orbit defines Apophis as what astronomers call an Aten-class asteroid. And Apophis gets nearly as close to the sun as the planet Venus, then heads out to just beyond Earth’s orbit. It orbits the sun in less than one Earth-year (Apophis takes 323.6 days to orbit the sun. It was 57 degrees from the sun, unusually close for an asteroid.īut astronomers quickly recognized this asteroid was different from most. The asteroid they found was originally designated 2004 MN 4. They were specifically looking for objects in the direction of the sun. The team of Dave Tholen, Fabrizio Bernardi, and the late Roy Tucker were searching for asteroids low in the western sky. Discovery of ApophisĪstronomers at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tuscon, Arizona, discovered Apophis on the evening of June 19, 2004. ![]() Radar measurements estimate Apophis is roughly 1,500 feet (450 meters) wide and 550 feet (170 meters) tall. As evening falls along the east coast of North America, the asteroid will be a telescopic object located in a part of the sky about 15 degrees north of the Pleiades. As the asteroid moves farther from the Earth and dims, it becomes visible in eastern South America. If you are in Australia, southern Asia, southern Europe, or Africa, you will have a front-row seat to see this asteroid when it is at its brightest. Not everyone will be able to see Apophis in 2029. This passage will also change the orbit of Apophis slightly. As the asteroid encounters Earth’s gravitational field in 2029, one result could be asteroid-quakes on Apophis. And it’s closer than many Earth-orbiting satellites. That’s in contrast to the moon’s average distance of about 250,000 miles (380,000 km). In 2029, Apophis should pass at a nominal distance of 19,662 miles (31,643 km) from the Earth’s surface. Calculations in recent years have proven the asteroid will safely glide past Earth in both 20. Location, location, locationĪpophis is a space rock about 1,000 feet (340 meters) across. Here’s the updated story on this amazing asteroid.Īnd, by the way, Apophis is pronounced uh-pah’-fs. But, by 2006, that idea had also been disproven.Īpophis is exciting! But it’s not frightening. For a time, initial observations of this asteroid suggested that – if, at the 2029 pass, Apophis passed through a region of space only half a mile wide (about 800 meters wide), dubbed a “keyhole” by astronomers – then it might strike us exactly seven years later on April 13, 2036. Seven years from today – on Friday, Ap– a relatively large and extremely infamous asteroid named 99942 Apophis will zoom past Earth. See the day and year in the upper left corner? And see how close Apophis and Earth will come in 2029? Image via Phoenix7777/ Wikimedia Commons. Orbit of asteroid Apophis (pink) in contrast to the orbit of Earth (blue).
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