The World Will Soon Witness "One of the Rarest Space Events of Our Lives"
An asteroid named 99942 Apophis will pass close to Earth in 2029, posing no threat for the next century. NASA and ESA plan missions to study the 375-meter asteroid during this rare event.
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The article discusses an upcoming rare space event involving the asteroid 99942 Apophis, which will have a close encounter with Earth in 2029. Initially considered a potential threat due to its size and proximity, further observations have ruled out any impact risk for the next 100 years. The asteroid, measuring 375 meters in diameter, will pass within 32,000 kilometers of Earth's surface, visible from the Eastern Hemisphere without telescopes. NASA and ESA plan missions to study Apophis during its flyby, aiming to understand its composition and behavior. The event is deemed rare, occurring once every 5,000 to 10,000 years for an asteroid of this size. Despite its proximity, Apophis poses no threat in 2029, offering a unique opportunity for scientific observation and learning about planetary defense against such objects.
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9 comments> 2029's visit will be particularly close, with the asteroid coming within 32,000 kilometers (20,000 miles) of the Earth's surface, closer to the Earth than some of our satellites. The asteroid should be visible from the Eastern Hemisphere without the aid of a telescope or binoculars, with the European Space Agency dubbing its flyby "one of the rarest space events of our lives".
NASA has an interactive solar system viewer where you can see the orbits of asteroids, comets, and of course planets. I've set the link to 2029 to get you in the ball park. It's a fun tool to play around with that gives a different perspective than a typical planetarium view since you view from different angles than just earth's surface
Wow, that is incredibly close. 20,000 miles is about how far you fly round-trip from JFK to Singapore.
> The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will dip toward the surface of Apophis and fire its engines to kick up loose rocks and dust
Just hearing this scares me (knowing nothing about orbital physics). I am just imagining a couple generations down the line astronomers saying, well, this asteroid used to not be a concern, except one time we went up there and kicked some rocks around, which accidentally set it onto a direct course for Earth in 2150..
Since we know it's going to come back around, couldn't we hit it with a couple of hydrogen bombs on it's way past us to ensure that it's knocked far off course for it's next orbit?
Most of them are pretty far away but there are a few each month within lunar orbit, about 400,000 km
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