A Close Call with Asteroid Apophis
4 hours ago Guest Blogger 18 Comments
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
*”Just a bit outside”…thankfully…a close call with asteroid Apophis in April 2029 and billions should be able to view it*
Overview
It was quite a scare when first discovered in 2004, but thousands of observations later, we now know that the asteroid known as Apophis will miss Earth when it makes its closest approach in April 2029. However, in the grand scheme of things in our vast universe, this will be a close call, and it’ll come so close that billions of people should be able to see it with their naked eyes. Interestingly, the closest flyby to Earth by Apophis will fall on “Friday the 13th” in April of 2029.
Credit for graphic spaceweather.com
Discussion
The asteroid that is officially known as 99942 Apophis – named after the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness – will safely fly past Earth on Friday, April 13th, 2029, but the earliest calculations gave it a 1-in-37 chance of hitting Earth or a 2.7% probability…the highest impact odds ever given to a sizeable asteroid. Years after the initial discovery in 2004 and thousands of observations later, we now know that Apophis will miss, but by so little that billions of people should be able to see it with their naked eyes according to spaceweather.com. In fact, there are estimates that as many as 7.6 billion people on Earth will be able to see asteroid Apophis with their naked eyes – about 90% of the world’s population – with North America being the only continent that will not get a clear view of Apophis. (Source). During the flyby, Apophis will move around 42 degrees per hour (the width of a full Moon every minute according to spaceweather.com) and will visibly drift against the background stars…a sight no human has ever seen without a telescope. Since 2021, telescopes on Earth have been unable to see Apophis as it has been hiding in the sun’s glare. However, by August of 2027, the asteroid should re-appear to Earth’s telescopes as a faint magnitude 21 speck.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2026/08/01/a-close-call-with-asteroid-apophis/
