99942 Apophis (/əˈpɒfɪs/, previously known by its provisional designation 2004 MN4) is a 370-meter diameter near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 because initial observations indicated a probability of up to 2.7% that it would hit Earth on April 13, 2029. Additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon in 2029.
However, until 2006, a possibility remained that during the 2029 close encounter with Earth, Apophis would pass through a gravitational keyhole, a small region no more than about 0.5 mile wide, or 0.8 km that would set up a future impact exactly seven years later on April 13, 2036. This possibility kept it at Level 1 on the Torino impact hazard scale until August 2006, when the probability that Apophis would pass through the keyhole was determined to be very small and Apophis' rating on the Torino scale was lowered to zero.
By 2008, the keyhole had been determined to be less than 1 km wide. During the short time when it had been of greatest concern, Apophis set the record for highest rating on the Torino scale, reaching level 4 on December 27, 2004.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis
With that much stuff flying around in space, I've often wondered if these types of calculations might always be made null and void by some other non-tracked entity simply hitting the main object in such a way that it would nudge it ever so slightly off course....
I'm sure it'll be fine...
Hey - have a guess what day it is on April 13th, 2029......
Cheers,
Itsallaguess
