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While the Earth could be struck at any time by a devastating and unseen chunk of hurtling space rock, one such potentially planet-wrecking asteroid being tracked by astronomers is no longer a threat to the survival of humankind.
No longer a threat, thankfully. Image: NASA/JPL.
More pointedly, the Apophis asteroid, which was discovered in 2004 and thought to be heading for a collision with the Earth in 2036, has now been downgraded in terms of its threat level following new research regarding its trajectory.
While bigger than two football fields and certainly well equipped to cause massive planetary devastation, the Apophis asteroid is now unlikely to strike the Earth, according to new observations made by star-gazing astronomers at the University of Hawaii’s huge space telescope near the island summit of Mauna Kea.
“Apophis has been one of those celestial bodies that has captured the public’s interest since it was discovered in 2004,” explained NASA scientist Steve Chesley.
“Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a-million,” he added.
Despite the collective sigh of relief being pushed out around the world by knee-jangling doom mongers preparing for imminent obliteration, Apophis is still expected to put on something of a spectacular performance when its orbit brings it within just 18,500 miles of the planet in April of 2029.
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