"Killer of Cities." When a giant asteroid will approach the Earth: scientists have assessed all the risks

The huge asteroid Apophis is set to approach Earth in 2029. A new study shows that the risk of the dangerous space rock colliding with our planet still remains.

Although scientists believe that the rock should fly past the Earth. However, the trajectory of the asteroid can be changed by another rock during the collision, LiveScience writes.

A new study shows that there is a small but underestimated risk that the asteroid "God of Chaos" Apophis could hit the Earth. The probability of such a terrible collision is more than one in a billion.

However, according to experts, the possibility that a space rock the size of the Eiffel Tower could still collide with our planet cannot be ruled out for at least 3 years.

According to scientists, Apophis is a peanut-shaped space rock measuring about 340 meters. At this scale, the space rock is not powerful enough to be considered a "planet killer" asteroid, but large enough to be a "city killer" and cause climate impacts across the planet.

The "potentially dangerous" object was discovered in 2004 and named after the god of darkness and disorder, Apophis, who was nicknamed the "God of Chaos."

Shortly after the discovery of the space rock, astronomers discovered that Apophis would fly very close to Earth on April 13, 2029. This raised fears that it might collide with our planet.

However, further observations by NASA showed that the asteroid will safely "sail" past the Earth at a distance of less than 32,000 kilometers. But it could still be close enough to hit some of our most distant satellites orbiting the Earth.

However, experts warn that large asteroids like Apophis could be knocked off course by collisions with smaller asteroids.

According to scientists, after 2029, Apophis will continue to approach the Earth frequently – in 2051, 2066, and 2080. However, the approach models suggest that the space rock will not pose a threat to our planet for at least 100 years.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that a giant asteroid the size of two football fields is flying towards the Earth. The inhabitants of our planet will be able to observe its approach on September 15.

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