Apophis 99942 is a 370-metre-wide near-Earth orbit space rock that continues to pose a destructive threat. Initial observations from the space agency in 2004 revealed a probability of 2.7% that it could strike Earth in 2029. Additional observations later ruled this date out, claiming it would pass through a gravitational keyhole setting up a future impact in 2036.
The revelation caused a brief period of concern among scientists and the public, it was revealed during Amazon Prime’s “Asteroid Trackers” documentary.
The 2008 series revealed: “We are pummelled by an asteroid every 100 years or so.
“Right now trackers are keeping tabs on an asteroid eight times the size of anything we’ve seen before.
“In about 20 years time Apophis will be on a path that will bring it closer to Earth than our own communication satellites.
“Right now the chances of a collision are slim, but if something like Apophis hit the Earth it would be devastating.”
By late 2008, the probability that Apophis would pass through the gravitational keyhole was determined to be very small, ruling out an impact in 2036.
However, the threat is not completely eliminated.
NASA later admitted on February 21, 2013, there is a 150,000/1 chance of a direct impact with Earth in 2068.
They also revealed on April 13, 2029, that Apophis will pass Earth within the orbits of geosynchronous communication satellites.
It will come as close as 19,400 miles above the Earth’s surface, making the pass much closer than first predicted.
The pass in late March 2036 will be no closer than about 15 million miles and will most likely miss Earth by about 34 million miles.
On average, one asteroid the size of Apophis can be expected to impact Earth about every 80,000 years.