NASA Rules Out Possibility of Impacts in 2036 and 2068 for Asteroid Apophis

Posted by Guy Pirro | 04/09/2021 05:28PM | 3 Comments

Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004, by astronomers at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. Estimated to be about 1,100 feet (340 meters) across, Apophis quickly gained notoriety as an asteroid that could pose a serious threat to Earth, when astronomers predicted that it would come uncomfortably close in 2029. Thanks to additional observations of the Near-Earth Object (NEO), the risk of an impact in 2029 was later ruled out, as was the potential impact risk posed by another close approach in 2036. Until this month, however, a small chance of impact in 2068 still remained. But when Apophis made a distant flyby of Earth around March 5, 2021, astronomers took the opportunity to use powerful radar observations to refine the estimate of its orbit around the Sun with extreme precision, enabling them to confidently rule out any impact risk in 2068. Now, there is no risk of Apophis impacting our planet for at least a century.