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"God of Chaos" Asteroid Will Pass Close to Earth in 3 Years, NASA Says
NASA says the asteroid will offer scientists a rare chance to study how Earth’s gravity can alter a 1,115-foot object.
- On April 13, 2029, the near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis will pass within roughly 20,000 miles of Earth, closer than many orbiting satellites, and appear visible to the naked eye from the Eastern Hemisphere.
- Astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi discovered the object on June 19, 2004, and early impact calculations earned it the nickname "God of Chaos," though subsequent radar tracking has eliminated collision risks for at least 100 years.
- Measuring 1,115 feet across, Apophis will experience intense tidal forces as Earth's gravity potentially "stretches" and "squeezes" the asteroid, possibly triggering surface landslides and altering its rotation during the close encounter.
- NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will orbit Apophis in June 2029 to study encounter effects, while the European Space Agency's Ramses mission will observe the flyby, gathering high-resolution data on asteroid composition and internal structure.
- Experts note that such close approaches by objects this size occur only once every few thousand years, making this event critical for refining planetary defense systems and improving future impact prediction models.
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An asteroid the size of three football fields is approaching Earth, dubbed Apophis, or "god of chaos." It is expected to whiz past our planet in three years, at one point coming within just 32,000 kilometers of Earth, closer than many satellites in our orbit.
·Ljubljana, Slovenia
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The IndependentReposted by 
The Independent (US)
The Independent (US)Rare asteroid expected to pass Earth closer than satellites
·London, United Kingdom
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On July 16, 1994, astronomers observed with amazement how the first of the many fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 struck Jupiter with incredible force. The event aroused great interest in the field of planetary defense, and people wondered: “Could we do something to prevent this from happening to Earth?”
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Total News Sources34
Leaning Left6Leaning Right3Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution44% Center
Bias Distribution
- 44% of the sources are Center
44% Center
L 37%
C 44%
R 19%
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