Science: On Friday the 13th, 2029, Earth will be visited by a fascinating and frightening visitor in the form of the god of destruction asteroid Apophis. Named for Apep, the Egyptian serpent god of chaos and destruction, the asteroid is so large that it will fly 19,000 miles (30,600 km) from Earth, close enough to be visible to the naked eye. A new study suggests that the asteroid, which is the size of the Empire State Building, could turn around and hit Earth on its next path if much smaller space rocks collide with Apophis, suggesting that it could cause a serious emergency even if it passes through the Earth, or collides with the Earth. The crisis of 2029 may be averted. But don’t panic just yet.
The chances of a dangerous asteroid hitting Apophis are extremely low, study author and University of Western Ontario astronomer Paul Wiegert told Space.com. “The chance of Apophis being significantly deflected by an asteroid impact and being in danger of impact after 2029 is basically one in a million, but the chance of Apophis being destroyed by an impact is one in a billion,” he said. “It’s just a matter of timing,” he added. Earth in 2029 “I believe that the asteroid Apophis, which is supposed to come close to our planet in 2029 on its current orbit but pass through it safely, will be pushed onto a more dangerous path by an unexpected collision with a smaller asteroid.” “We have calculated the chances,” Wiegert explained. “These are small asteroids that sometimes appear in our atmosphere as ‘shooting stars’ or ‘bolides,’ and they can unexpectedly collide with Apophis until Apophis appears in 2027,” Wiegert explained. How dangerous is it? He added, “Asteroid Apophis will be nearly invisible from now until 2027 because it is in the daytime sky and could hit us without us noticing the event immediately.”
