MessageToEagle.com -
NASA scientists at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., effectively have ruled out the
possibility that the
asteroid Apophis will impact Earth during a close flyby in 2036.
The scientists used updated information obtained by NASA-supported telescopes in 2011 and 2012, as well as new data
from the time leading up to Apophis' distant Earth flyby yesterday (Jan. 9).
Discovered in 2004, the asteroid, which is the size of three-and-a-half football fields, gathered the immediate
attention of space scientists and the media when initial calculations of its orbit indicated a 2.7 percent possibility
of an Earth impact during a close flyby in 2029.
Data discovered during a search of old astronomical images provided the additional information required to rule out
the 2029 impact scenario, but a remote possibility of one in 2036 remained - until yesterday.
"With the new data provided by the Magdalena Ridge [New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology] and the Pan-STARRS
[Univ. of Hawaii] optical observatories, along with very recent data provided by the Goldstone Solar System Radar, we
have effectively ruled out the possibility of an Earth impact by Apophis in 2036," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's
Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL.
"The impact odds as they stand now are less than one in a million, which makes us comfortable saying we can effectively
rule out an Earth impact in 2036.
Our interest in asteroid Apophis will essentially be for its scientific interest for the foreseeable future."
The April 13, 2029, flyby of asteroid Apophis will be one for the record books. On that date, Apophis will become the
closest flyby of an asteroid of its size when it comes no closer than 19, 400 miles (31,300 kilometers) above Earth's surface.
Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004. Image credit: UH/IA
"But much sooner, a closer approach by a lesser-known asteroid is going to occur in the middle of next month when a
40-meter-sized asteroid, 2012 DA14, flies safely past Earth's surface at about 17,200 miles," said Yeomans.
"With new telescopes coming online, the upgrade of existing telescopes and the continued refinement of our orbital
determination process, there's never a dull moment working on near-Earth objects."
NASA detects and tracks asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground and space-based telescopes.
The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers
these objects, characterizes a subset of them and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.
Dangerous Apophis Will Reach Our Planet In 2036:
Will It Strike Earth?
A brief look into the future.
The year is 2029 and a very dangerous asteroid named Apophis is making its closest approach to Earth.
Humans are awaiting this moment with great anxiety as they will finally learn whether
the space killer will strike Earth when it returns in the year 2036.
Just how dangerous is Apophis really?
MessageToEagle.com -
NASA scientists at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., effectively have ruled out the
possibility that the 
A brief look into the future.
The year is 2029 and a very dangerous asteroid named Apophis is making its closest approach to Earth.
Humans are awaiting this moment with great anxiety as they will finally learn whether
the space killer will strike Earth when it returns in the year 2036.
Just how dangerous is Apophis really?
