An asteroid named after a god of chaos is heading toward Earth — but there is no need to panic just yet, according to The Independent.
The massive rock is arriving for a historic flyby rather than a disaster, according to NASA. The encounter is still a few years away, but when it finally arrives, it will be so close that spotting it won’t even require a telescope.
Known as 99942 Apophis, the rare asteroid is expected to “safely pass” within 20,000 miles of Earth in 2029, representing one of the closest approaches ever recorded for a celestial object of this size.
“Even though Apophis does not pose any immediate risk to Earth, an asteroid of its size passing so close to our planet is a very rare event,” NASA astronomers stated. “Scientists across the globe are excited to use this opportunity to study Apophis in detail.”
At roughly 1,115 feet wide, the asteroid will pass closer to Earth than the satellites orbiting in geosynchronous altitude, according to NASA.
It will be the closest approach of an asteroid of this size that humans have ever been aware of in advance, according to the European Space Agency.
The rare timing of the flyby — falling on Friday, April 13, in many parts of the world, has already sparked a mix of excitement and superstition across social media.
The asteroid was named after the ancient Egyptian god of evil and destruction. The name was proposed by its discoverers — astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi of the Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona — because Apophis is the Greek name for the Egyptian god known as Apep.
NASA reports that an asteroid of this scale passes this close to Earth only once every few thousand years on average, making it a potentially unprecedented event in recorded human history.
