A 1,100-foot asteroid will fly past Earth in 2029 within hitting distance of some orbiting spacecraft. The asteroid, known as 9942 Apophis, will come within 19,000 miles of earth on April 13th, 2029.

Scientists at the Planetary Defense Conference is already preparing for the asteroid. As we speak, they are talking about how the asteroid will affect the Earth due to gravity. They are also discussing new research opportunities and how to deflect the asteroid should the need arise.

NASA/JPL-CALTECH
This image shows the distance between the Apophis asteroid and Earth at the time of the asteroid’s closest approach. The blue dots are the many man-made satellites that orbit our planet, and the pink represents the International Space Station.

The asteroid will be visible to our eyes like a shooting star. It will pass over the US in the early evening(exact time unknown for now.)

This asteroid was discovered 15 years ago in 2004, and has been tracked since then. There is currently a 1 in 100,000 chance of this asteroid striking Earth in the future – by 2060, according to NewsWeek.

 

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