Sharmila Kuthunur is a Seattle-based science journalist covering astronomy, astrophysics and space exploration. Follow her on X @skuthunur.
The asteroid Apophis, infamous because it's headed to brush past Earth in 2029, most likely isn't something to worry about, a new study finds. This space rock, scientists calculated, will not collide with other space rocks that could worryingly alter its orbit and redirect it toward Earth — at least until the day it swings past our planet, that is.is a peanut-shaped, near-Earth asteroid leftover from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.
"Fortunately, no such collisions are anticipated," study lead author Paul Wiegert, an astronomer at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, said in a."Even now that we know it's on course to miss us by a safe margin, astronomers remain vigilant. It's the asteroid we just can't stop watching.
Simulations of the chosen orbits showed that none of the studied asteroids or comets will directly hit Apophis before its April 2029 fly past Earth, meaning its orbit is unlikely to be redirected toward our planet.Wiegert and Hyatt also found Apophis will pass a little over 310,000 miles of another asteroid named 4544 Xanthus in December 2026. While both space rocks will not collide — 4544 Xanthus will pass the duo's intersection point just four hours after Apophis.
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