The colossal asteroid known as “God of Chaos” might be on a collision course with Earth with an arrival date of Friday the 13th, according to an astronomer.
99942 Apophis was discovered in 2004 and was believed to have just a 2.7% chance of striking Earth in 2029.
Further observations ruled out any possibility of an impact and it was predicted to make a close approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029, coming no closer than 18,300 miles from our planet.
But a recent study by Canadian astronomer Paul Wiegert suggests that a “small object” colliding with the asteroid could dramatically alter this trajectory.
He said: “The odds of an unseen small asteroid deflecting Apophis enough to direct it into a collision with Earth in 2029 (d 3.4 m, v > 5 102 m s1) are approximately 108. Given that only 5% of such impulses are in the correct direction to generate an Earth impact, the overall probability of a small impact directing Apophis into a collision with the Earth is less than one in two billion.”
According to Google Gemini, the concept specifies that the distance “d” must be at least 3.4 metres or more, and the change in velocity “v” must be greater than 5 102 meters per second for it to alter the asteroid’s path.
And the expert added an eerie caution, remarking: “An additional element of the story is that Apophis has been largely unmonitored by telescopes since May 2021 and will remain so through 2027.
“This arises simply because of the relative geometry of Apophis, Earth, and the Sun, which puts the asteroid in the daytime sky for the time span in question.”