Topline<\/p>\n
In 1,000 days, on April 13, 2029, the near-Earth asteroid Apophis will make one of the closest flybys of a large asteroid ever predicted with certainty. Named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, it will safely pass just 20,000 miles (32,000 km) above Earth \u2014 closer than many communication satellites, and close enough to see from some parts of Earth\u2019s surface. It\u2019s an event predicted to occur just once every 5,000- 10,000 years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, Apophis will safely pass just 20,000 miles (32,000 km) above Earth \u2014 closer than many communication satellites, and close enough to see from some parts of Earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n ESA-Science OfficeKey Facts<\/p>\n Asteroid Apophis (99942) is about 340 meters (1,100 feet) across, roughly the height of the Eiffel Tower, according to NASA<\/a>. That\u2019s larger than 90% of space rocks.<\/p>\n Apophis orbits the sun every 323.6 days (0.89 years), crossing Earth’s path around the sun. That makes a collision possible, though astronomers have ruled out any impact with Earth for at least the next century.<\/p>\n It will be visible to the naked eye across parts of Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and eastern South America, according to Eclipse Atlas<\/a>. About 90% of the world\u2019s population will be able to see it for a span of about seven hours. <\/p>\n The close approach will allow scientists to study how Earth\u2019s gravity affects an asteroid\u2019s orbit, rotation and surface, providing valuable insights for planetary defense.<\/p>\n Earth\u2019s gravity will have a notable impact on the passing space rock, altering its path and amplifying the uncertainty in its orbit.<\/p>\n ESACould Apophis strike Earth in 2029?<\/p>\n Apophis first hit the headlines in 2006 after a paper published<\/a> calculated a 2.7% chance it could strike Earth in 2029, 2036 or 2068. In 2021, it was announced<\/a> that Apophis would not strike Earth for at least a century. However, according to 2024 simulations<\/a>, scientists theorized that Apophis could collide with a small asteroid, altering its trajectory. The odds are exceptionally small \u2014 around one in a million \u2014 but it\u2019s not impossible. Unfortunately for scientists, there\u2019s no way to check until 2027, as Apophis will remain in the daytime sky until then.<\/p>\n Asteroid Apophis: The RAMSES Mission<\/p>\n The European Space Agency\u2019s Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (RAMSES) will rendezvous with asteroid Apophis ahead of its historic close flyby of Earth. In February, ESA signed a contract<\/a> with OHB Italia to begin construction, assembly and testing of the spacecraft. It\u2019s scheduled to launch in spring 2028 and arrive in early 2029, allowing scientists to study the asteroid before, during and after its close flyby of Earth. The spacecraft will make detailed measurements of Apophis\u2019 shape, rotation, orbit, surface and internal structure while observing how Earth\u2019s gravity alters the asteroid during the flyby. Scientists expect the close encounter to subtly change Apophis\u2019 spin, orientation and possibly even trigger landslides on its surface. \u201cWith Ramses, ESA is seizing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study asteroid Apophis as it swings past Earth, deepening our understanding of near-Earth objects and advancing our capabilities to protect our planet,\u201d said Orson Sutherland, Mars & Beyond Projects Group Leader at ESA.<\/p>\n Further readingForbesWill \u2018Apophis\u2019 Hit Earth In 2029? We\u2019ll Know In 2027, Scientist SaysBy Jamie Carter<\/a>Forbes50 Days To A Total Solar Eclipse \u2014 Where And When To Experience ItBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesWhy Americans Cannot Ignore August\u2019s Total Solar EclipseBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesTuesday\u2019s New Moon Sets Up A Total Solar Eclipse In 29 DaysBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesMeet The World Cup Country About To Have 3 Spectacular Solar Eclipses In 3 YearsBy Jamie Carter<\/a>ForbesNASA Drops Map Of Next Total Solar Eclipse \u2014 And It Visits The U.S.By Jamie Carter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline In 1,000 days, on April 13, 2029, the near-Earth asteroid Apophis will make one of the closest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[28437,232192,19126,232193,59,232194,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-699011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-apophis","tag-apophis-asteroid","tag-asteroid","tag-asteroid-apophis-99942","tag-gb","tag-god-of-chaos-asteroid","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}