Apophis, named after the Egyptian deity who personifies evil and chaos. The large asteroid will fly unusually close to Earth on Friday, but fear not: experts have confirmed that it will remain a safe distance – in fact millions of miles away.
According to Space, the asteroid, Apophis, will approach Earth at a distance of 0.11 astronomical units, or about 10 million miles. This distance is considered “near” in astronomical terms, but according to EarthSky, there is no chance that Apophis will collide with Earth. However, this will not be the only time this space junk closes on our planet.
NASA predicts that on April 13, 2029, Apophis will move even closer to Earth and come as close as the distance that some spacecraft orbits the planet. It is rare for a large asteroid to pass so close to Earth, although smaller asteroids have been observed at similar distances.
“Apophis’ close approach in 2029 will be an incredible opportunity for science,” said Marina Brozović, a radar scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
According to NASA, current calculations say that the chance that Apophis will ever affect the Earth in the future is very low – less than 1 in 100,000. Radar images indicate that the cosmic object, which is about 300 meters long, looks like a peanut due to its elongated, skewed shape.
Europe’s virtual telescope project will launch the asteroid fly on its website from 19:00 EST.
Hopefully, the residents of the luxury space hotel, estimated to be completed in 2027, will be in a safe lane when Apophis returns two years later.