‘God Of Chaos' Asteroid: It's Exactly Four Years Until The Rarest Space Event Of Our Lives

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Precisely four years from today — on Friday, April 13, 2029 — an asteroid as wide as the Empire State Building is wide will come closer to Earth than orbiting geosynchronous satellites in a very rare event. Apophis will not impact Earth, but could its remarkably close pass store up trouble for the future? If so, the close pass is a chance to gather data critical for humanity's future.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis (named for the serpent god of chaos in ancient Egypt) is a 1,100-foot (340-meter) wide space rock that will get to within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of our planet.

At a gathering of scientists this week in Tokyo, Japan, plans were unveiled during the Apophis T-4 Years Workshop for radar observations before, during and after the approach, with one abstract describing the close encounter as a chance for a "once-per-thousand-year natural science opportunity."

According to NASA , when Apophis was discovered in 2004, scientists calculated that it might strike Earth in 2029, 2036 or 2068. Its orbit has since been refined a few times, and, as it stands, we're safe — for now.

However, it's possible that the gravitational effect on Apophis of Earth on April 29, 2029, could cause it to alter its trajectory slightly and be a danger in the future. So could a chance encounter with another asteroid in deep space.

For now, its future trajectory is unknowable, but scientists are certain of one thing — we should use its close pass in 2029 to study it closely. After all, in 2060 or 2068, it could one day live up to its "God of Chaos" moniker.

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