Overview
- Apophis, about 340 to 450 meters across, will pass roughly 32,000 kilometers from Earth on April 13, 2029, closer than many geosynchronous satellites.
- NASA confirms no risk of impact in 2029 or for the coming decades, with no danger to people, spacecraft, or satellites.
- NASA has redirected its OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft to meet Apophis after the flyby, and Europe is developing the Ramses mission to monitor the asteroid up close.
- Earth’s pull during the pass could tweak Apophis’s spin or trigger small surface slides, offering rare clues to how the rock is built inside.
- First spotted in 2004 with an early 2.7% impact estimate, the asteroid is now well tracked, and people in parts of the Eastern Hemisphere may see it with the naked eye as a slow-moving point of light.