Is Asteroid Apophis coming close to Earth in 2029? ISRO Chief says....

As the possibility of a large asteroid called Apophis coming 'very close to the Earth' has come into focus, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it is monitoring it. The asteroid is named after the Egyptian God of Chaos, Apophis. 

Notably, NASA has ruled out any impact risk from this asteroid. It said even its close approach with Earth was still nearly 17 million kilometers or 44 times the Earth-Moon distance away from Earth. 

Talking to NDTV, ISRO chief Dr S Somanath said a large asteroid strike is a real existential threat to humanity, adding that the Indian Space Agency is monitoring the Apophis very closely.

"ISRO is very alive to that threat and our Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) is monitoring Apophis very closely. After all, we have only one Earth to live on," Dr Somanath told NDTV.

Now expected to make its closest approach to Earth on 13 April 2029, NASA said Asteroid Apophis will pass less than 32,000 kilometers from our planet’s surface – closer than the distance of geosynchronous satellites. 

However, they added the closeness is not an immediate hazard to our planet, but just an unprecedented opportunity for astronomers to get a close-up view of a solar system relic.

He also said that India would cooperate with all nations to ward off the threat from the Apophis and any other such threats in the future.

What do we know about Asteroid Apophis?

First discovered in 2004, the Apophis was identified as one of the most hazardous asteroids that could impact Earth. However, NASA changed its impact assessment after astronomers tracked this near-Earth object (NEO), estimated to be about 1,100 feet (335 meters), and its orbit became better determined.

In March 2021, a radar observation campaign coupled with detailed orbit analysis enabled astronomers to determine that the asteroid Apophis poses no threat of colliding with Earth for at least the next hundred years.

Asteroid Apophis became infamous as a potential threat to Earth due to predictions of a close approach in 2029. Subsequent observations discounted the risk of impact in 2029 and also for a later approach in 2036. However, until March 2021, there remained a slight possibility of an impact in 2068.

During Apophis' distant flyby of Earth on 5 March 2021, astronomers utilized powerful radar observations to refine the asteroid's orbital estimate around the Sun with extreme precision. This allowed them to confidently eliminate any risk of impact in 2068 and beyond.

Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) said a 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore. "Our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years."

Farnocchia added that with the support of optical observations and additional radar observations, the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit has collapsed from hundreds of kilometers to just a handful of kilometers when projected to 2029. 

He shared that when he started working with asteroids after college, Apophis was the poster child for hazardous asteroids. However, he feels a certain sense of satisfaction to see it removed from the risk list. "We’re looking forward to the science we might uncover during its close approach in 2029.”