The asteroid known as 99942 Apophis has given a lot of work to do for astronomers. Some of them came with the hypothesis that the asteroid can smash into our planet in 2029. Apophis has a radius of 185 meters, and it would definitely cause severe damage if it will ever hit our planet.
What’s for sure is that on April 13, 2029, the space rock will come very close to Earth – it will pass through the zone of satellites flying at high-altitudes. Thanks to TheHill.com, we now know some important statements made by NASA.
Earth is safe from an asteroid impact for the next 100 years
NASA brings the big announcement that our planet is safe from any dangerous asteroid impact for at least the next 100 years. The space agency invoked new telescope observations as a reason to exclude any impact with the Apophis asteroid in 2068. NASA also ruled out the possibility for Apophis paying us an unwanted visit in 2029 or 2036.
Davide Farnocchia from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies declared for the AP:
A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years.
Farnocchia also added:
When I started working with asteroids after college, Apophis was the poster child for hazardous asteroids,
There’s a certain sense of satisfaction to see it removed from the risk list.
Although an impact with Apophis would cause huge damage if it hits our planet, the space rock is still significantly small compared to one that could wipe out all life on Earth. Scientists estimate that a ‘global killer’ would need to measure about 60 miles wide in order to terminate all life forms from our planet.
