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Judi Lynn

(160,227 posts)
Thu Mar 4, 2021, 05:39 PM Mar 2021

Large asteroid Apophis will safely fly by Earth on Friday

By Elizabeth Howell 5 hours ago



An animation shows Apophis' 2029 path compared to the swarm of satellites orbiting Earth. The asteroid won't pass nearly as closely in 2021; it will remain 44 times more distant than the moon. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Our solar system's most infamous asteroid will pass by Earth on Friday (March 5), and with a high-end telescope you can watch it as it safely whizzes by our planet.

We're talking about none other than asteroid 99942 Apophis, which will come even closer to Earth on April 13, 2029, when it passes through the zone of high-altitude satellites. But even then, Apophis won't hit Earth as some had predicted — so instead, let's focus on what science is coming from these flybys.

The near-Earth asteroid is roughly 1,000 feet (300 meters) across and was discovered in 2004. Initial early estimates suggested there was a small chance of Apophis hitting Earth in 2029, but scientists ruled out that possibility after looking at archival images, NASA said.

Even though the planet is not in danger, however, scientists will still appreciate the rare flybys in 20210 and 2029 to look at the shape of the asteroid — and perhaps even surface features in 2029 — in our ongoing study to learn more about asteroids, which have been around since early in the solar system's history (our neighborhood came together roughly 4.5 billion years ago).

More:
https://www.space.com/asteroid-apophis-march-2021-flyby?utm_source=notification

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