WILL AN ASTEROID HIT EARTH IN 2029?
On Friday 13 April 2029, Earth will experience a dramatic close encounter with 99942 Apophis, with the 335-metre (1,100-foot) asteroid passing within 31,000 kilometres (19,000 miles) of our home planet, bringing it closer than most geostationary satellites. Thanks to Apophis’ tremendous size, this close passage will be so bright that around 2 billion people will be able to witness it with the naked eye. First becoming visible in the Southern Hemisphere, the asteroid will resemble a speck of light as it streaks from east to west, initially passing over Australia, traversing the Indian Ocean and eventually crossing the equator over Africa.
This spectacular and historic event could have been much more severe. Scientists were unsure whether the passage of Apophis would result in a collision with Earth. Even when this risk was negated, researchers still couldn’t rule out r the possibility that Earth’s gravitational effects could influence the asteroid in such a way that one of its next visits could result in an impact – something that was only ruled out this year.
“Apophis is in the category of potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) – asteroids with orbits that bring them very close to Earth now and for centuries in the future,” says Richard Binzel, professor of
