99942 Apophis No Longer a Threat for 2036
While some people have been concerned over the possibility of a strike by Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, another object out in space had some people at NASA concerned enough to suggest a space mission. 99942 Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004 by R. A. Tucker, D. J. Tholen and F. Bernardi at the Kitt Peak Observatory. Also known as Apep, the Destroyer, Apophis is the Egyptian god of evil and destruction who dwelled in eternal darkness.
After an earlier close passage by the Earth on April 13 2029, astronomers felt it was possible (though improbable) that asteroid Apophis could pass through a keyhole leading to a collision in 2036. Although that possibility has now been ruled out, Sutherland says "the asteroid will fly so near the Earth on an earlier encounter on Friday the 13th of April, 2029, that it will come closer than TV and communications satellites."
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