NASA Issues Warning: Asteroid Apophis Is Heading Towards Earth

Apophis is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object. The possibility that asteroid Apophis may strike Earth has kept many astrophysicists up at night. Amidst the countless celestial bodies, Apophis stands out. Named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos, who had the form of a serpent which represented evil, chaos, destruction and darkness. Apophis was first discovered on June 19, 2004, by astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Tucson, Arizona. Since its discovery, optical and radar telescopes have tracked Apophis as it orbits the Sun and scientists are confident they know its future trajectory. in March 2021, astronomers took the opportunity to use powerful radar observations to refine the estimate of its orbit around the Sun with extreme precision, enabling them to confidently rule out any impact risk in 2068 and long after. There was a time when the chances of Apophis hitting Earth were as high as 1 in 37 and could cause serious damage were it to impact our planet. However this ancient piece of the early solar system is of great scientific interest. NASA is redirecting a spacecraft to study the asteroid. After successfully completing its mission to gather a sample of asteroid Bennu in September 2023, OSIRIS-REx which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer was renamed OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer or OSIRIS-APEX.
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The spacecraft was sent to study Apophis during the asteroid's 2029 Earth flyby. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX mission is to study the asteroid for 18 months starting in April 2029, just before it makes its close approach to Earth. OSIRIS-APEX is the repurposed OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that returned a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth in September 2023. By April 2, 2029, around two weeks before Apophis’ close encounter with Earth, OSIRIS-APEX’s cameras will begin taking images of the asteroid as the spacecraft catches up to it. Apophis will get within around 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. This is within the distance that geosynchronous satellites orbit and 10 times closer than our moon. Apophis will even be visible to the naked eye in some parts of the world during its rendezvous.Its size is about 1,100 feet or 340 meters in width, almost the size of four football fields. It is a fascinating blend of silicate rocks, nickel, and iron. When scientists first observed Apophis, they were intrigued by its unique composition. But, with that size, what would happen if Apophis hit Earth? Apophis would cause widespread destruction up to several hundred of kilometers from its impact site.
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