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Animation shows asteroid’s rapid approach to Earth in 2029

  • January 17, 2024
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The animation showing the asteroid approaching Earth has received a lot of views over the past few days, especially because it looks so close. An animation posted on

Animation shows asteroid’s rapid approach to Earth in 2029

The animation showing the asteroid approaching Earth has received a lot of views over the past few days, especially because it looks so close.

An animation posted on the Cosmoknowledge Facebook page on Sunday shows the path of asteroid 99942 Apophis, which will reach its closest approach on April 13, 2029. Frankly, there is nothing to be afraid of in this asteroid, which NASA predicts will not hit Earth. Not in 2029 or another close approach in 2036. But animation is still what is known as dirt.

NASA estimates that in April 2029, Apophis will come within 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) of the Earth’s surface. Because it is closer than some satellites, it can be seen from the Eastern Hemisphere without the aid of a telescope or binoculars.

This may seem close (from a cosmic perspective, not a walking perspective), but astronomers don’t care. Apophis flew past Earth in 2021, after which astronomers conducted powerful radar observations to better determine its orbit. Before that, NASA thought there would be a chance of impact later in the century, but observations ruled out that possibility.

“An impact in 2068 is no longer possible,” Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies said of the asteroid, “and our calculations suggest there is no risk of an impact for at least the next 100 years.”

Other animations that are a little closer and come from a different angle are more relaxing. NASA’s Eyes On Asteroids website also offers more detailed images of these and other asteroids for anyone who has some free time and wants to be at the mercy of random space rocks.

NASA will conduct a flyby in 2029 to get a better look at the asteroid named after an Egyptian serpent god who wanted to swallow the Sun, using a spacecraft that returned samples from the asteroid Bennu. A little scientific cherry on top of the main treat? That a big rock from space won’t hit us.

Source: Port Altele

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