'God Of Chaos' Asteroid Apophis Could Still Hit Earth In 2029, Study Hints ⁘ But We Won't...

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There is a slim but overlooked risk that the "God of Chaos" asteroid Apophis could hit Earth as it makes a super close approach to our planet in 2029, a new study reveals. The odds of such a calamitous collision are more than one-in-a-billion ⁘ but we won't be able to rule it out for at least three more years.

In the new study, published Aug. 26 in The Planetary Science Journal , astronomer Paul Wiegert ⁘ an expert in solar system dynamics at Western University in Canada ⁘ calculated the odds of such a scenario happening and found that while it was extremely unlikely, it is still possible.

In March, Weigert was part of a similar study assessing the risk of Apophis being deflected by any known asteroids and found that there was "zero chance" of this happening . However, at the time, the researchers did warn that there was still a chance that an undiscovered asteroid could collide with Apophis.

But we will have to wait until 2027 to find out if Apophis has been knocked off course because it is currently out of sight due to its close proximity to the sun. When it does reappear, astronomers will be better able to calculate the odds of potential change of course between then and 2029, Weigert wrote.

Beyond 2029, Apophis will continue to make frequent close approaches to Earth, as it did most recently in 2021 . There will be particularly close shaves in 2051, 2066 and 2080, but models suggest the space rock poses no threat to Earth for at least 100 years .