Does giant asteroid Apophis will collide with Earth in 2029?

The asteroid of 325 metres in diameter, known as Apophis, will approach Earth at a distance of about 30,577 km on April 13 2029, wrote Newsweek.

The magazine revealed that Apophis could potentially approach the surface of the Earth more than a few spaceships in orbit. At the same time, the scientists cited by the magazine almost ruled out the possibility of the asteroid hit Earth.

Marina Brozovic, a scientist at the NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, described the next approaching asteroid as "an incredible opportunity for science".

"We will observe the asteroid with both optical telescopes as radar. With radar observations, we can see details on the surface only a few meters in size, "said during the Planetary Defense Conference of 2019, in College Park, Maryland.

Davide Farnocchia, an astronomer of the Center for the study of near-Earth Objects (CNEOS), for your time, reviewed data from 15 years of optical and radar tracking in Apophis, which he said helps researchers to "estimate more accurately the orbit under the meeting with the Earth in 2029.

"We already know that an approximation of the Earth will change the orbit of Apophis, but our models also show that the approach can change the way the asteroid rotates, and there may be some changes on the surface as small avalanches", explained Farnocchia.

He pointed out that, although scientists still cannot rule out completely a collision with Apophis after 2060, "those odds are extremely small, less than one in 100,000".

Farnocchia added that, taking into account that Apophis is greater than a carrier, may cause consequences to a continental level if you collide with Earth.

The Director of CNEOS, Paul Chodas, for your time, stated that the Apophis "is a representative of about 2,000 currently known potentially hazardous asteroids".

"When you look at the Apophis in approach during your 2029, we gain important scientific insights that one day may be used for Planetary Defense" concluded Chodas.