No need to panic, but Apophis, the “Colossal God of Chaos” asteroid, is expected to pass close enough to Earth that observers will be able to see it without telescopes.
The giant space rock, named after the Egyptian god of chaos and eternal darkness, will pass by Earth on April 13, 2029, according to NASA. (That’s right. It will pass by Earth on Friday the 13th.) A “potentially hazardous asteroid,” Apophis, should be visible from the Eastern Hemisphere without a telescope or binoculars.
The 2,132-foot-diameter, 67.24-million-ton asteroid was first discovered by NASA in the early 2000s. It is expected to fly within less than 20,000 miles of Earth’s surface. By comparison, most satellites in Earth’s orbit are around 22,000 miles away.
While NASA has said that it will pass by Earth “close enough that terrestrial tides should alter the asteroid’s spin state,” there is little chance that it will actually strike the planet. NASA previously pegged the chances of Apophis hitting our planet in 2029 at 1 in 2.3 million.
Apophis would be a world-killer if it hit Earth
If the “Colossal God of Chaos” asteroid did smash into Earth, it would be a world-killer, and the impact would have the force of 15,000 nuclear weapons detonating simultaneously.
NASA has said that it plans to use the Apophis flyby to prepare our planetary defenses. They also plan to conduct scientific research by studying the asteroid’s internal structure and physical properties.
“Even though Apophis does not pose any immediate risk to Earth, an asteroid of its size passing so close to our planet is a very rare event,” NASA stated. “Scientists across the globe are excited to use this opportunity to study Apophis in detail.“
In 2019, NASA revealed 10 dates when the “Colossal God of Chaos” asteroid could potentially strike Earth. The space agency said there’s just a 1-in-10 million chance of impact in April of 2060. In 2065, the odds drop to 1-in-3.8 million. But taken overall for the next 100 years, the chances drop even further, down to 1-in-110,000.