Billions of People Will See Apophis Asteroid with the Naked Eye in 2029

Scientists have published new observation maps regarding a rare cosmic event that will take place on April 13, 2029. According to them, 99942 Apophis asteroid will safely pass Earth at an extraordinarily close distance, and under favorable conditions, nearly 90 percent of the Earth's population will be able to observe it with the naked eye.

Expertsstate that on April 13, 2029, Apophis will fly past the Earth's surface at a distance of approximately 32 thousand kilometers distance. This is even closer than the orbit of geostationary satellites. However, scientists specifically note that this encounter poses no danger to Earth and the asteroid will not collide with our planet.

According to the maps based on new calculations, billions of people living in Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and parts of South America can observe the asteroid's movement. If the sky is clear and in areas with low light pollution, Apophis will look like a bright star moving slowly across the sky as a point. The observation will last about seven hours.

The diameter of Apophis is approximately 340–375 meters and it was discovered in 2004. Initial calculations discussed the possibility of its collision with Earth. However, as a result of refined observations in subsequent years, it has been fully confirmed that there is no risk of hitting Earth either in 2029 or over the next hundred years.