This places it in the group of Earth-crossing asteroids known as "Atens," whose orbits are smaller in width than the width of Earth's orbit, or 1 AU. It completes an orbit around the Sun in a bit less than one Earth year (about 0.9 years). The orbit of Apophis crosses the orbit of Earth. This is the closest approach by an asteroid of this size that scientists have known about in advance. It’s expected to safely pass close to Earth - within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) from our planet’s surface - on April 13, 2029. That’s about the size of three-and-a-half football fields.Īt its farthest, Apophis can reach a distance of about 2 astronomical units (One astronomical unit, abbreviated as AU, is the distance from the Sun to Earth.) away from Earth. Size and DistanceĪpophis is a 1,120-foot-wide (340-meter-wide) asteroid. Scientists around the world will study the asteroid’s size, shape, composition and possibly even its interior. The most important observations of Apophis will come during its close Earth flyby in 2029. Current calculations show that Apophis still has a very small chance of impacting Earth - less than 1 in 100,000 many decades from now. Since its discovery, optical and radar telescopes track Apophis as it orbits the Sun and scientists are confident they know its future trajectory. Fortunately, a team at the Siding Spring Observatory in Australia spotted the asteroid again later in the same year. They were only able to observe the asteroid for two days because of technical and weather problems. ExplorationĪpophis was discovered on June 19, 2004, by astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
Nasa asteroid watch full#
At one point it will appear to travel more than the width of the full Moon within a minute and it will get as bright as the stars in the Little Dipper.Īpophis is named for the demon serpent who personified evil and chaos in ancient Egyptian mythology. EDT, the asteroid will have crossed over the United States.Īs it passes by Earth, it will get brighter and faster. It will move so fast that it will cross the Atlantic in just an hour. EDT, April 13, 2029, Apophis will be over the Atlantic Ocean. East Coast when Apophis is above Australia.Īpophis will then cross above the Indian Ocean, and continuing west, it will cross the equator over Africa.Īt its closest approach to Earth, just before 6 p.m. With radar observations, we might be able to see surface details that are only a few meters in size.”ĭuring its 2029 flyby, Apophis will first become visible to the naked eye in the night sky over the southern hemisphere and will look like a speck of light moving from east to west over Australia. “We’ll observe the asteroid with both optical and radar telescopes. “The Apophis close approach in 2029 will be an incredible opportunity for science,” said Marina Brozović, a radar scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, who works on radar observations of near-Earth objects (NEOs).
It’s rare for an asteroid of this size to pass so close to Earth, although smaller asteroids, in the range of 16 to 33 feet (5 to 10 meters), in size have been observed passing by at similar distances. It’s also within the distance that some spacecraft orbit Earth. While that’s a safe distance, it’s close enough that the asteroid will come between Earth and our Moon, which is about 238,855 miles (384,400 kilometers) away. It’s now predicted the asteroid will safely pass about 19,800 miles (31,900 kilometers) from our planet’s surface. When it was discovered in 2004, the asteroid caused a stir because initial calculations indicated a small possibility it would impact Earth in 2029.Īfter searching through some older astronomical images, scientists ruled out the possibility of a 2029 impact. Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid more than 1000 feet (over 300 meters) in size that will harmlessly pass close to Earth on April 13, 2029.
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