Asteroid Apophis Just Got Supersized

Discover News ^ | January 9, 2014 | Ian O'Neill

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...asteroid 99942 Apophis is actually bigger than we thought. In fact, it’s been supersized by 20 percent.

Asteroid Apophis catapulted to fame in 2004 when a study predicted a 2.7 percent chance of Earth impact in April 2029. Since then, the threat level has been downgraded. However, the space rock will still make a very close pass with our planet, coming within 22,364 miles (36,000 kilometers), zooming below the orbit of geostationary satellites. But Apophis’ orbit is a bit tricky as it will make yet another close pass in 2036. Although the return trip was also a concern, as of Jan. 9, Apophis’ impact risk in 2036 has been further reduced to a vanishingly small 1 in 7,143,000.

Although Apophis certainly isn’t a substantial risk, it will likely remain in the headlines for some years yet.

So, today, European Space Agency astronomers have announced their findings after using their orbiting infrared observatory to take a look at Apophis as it raced toward closest approach to Earth over the weekend. Today, the asteroid flew safely by at a distance of 9 million miles (14.5 million kilometers, or one-tenth the Earth-sun distance).

Using Herschel data, mission scientists have deduced that Apophis is 1,066 feet (325 meters) wide. That’s 20 percent larger than the previous estimate of 885 feet (270 meters).

“The 20 percent increase in diameter, from 270 to 325 m, translates into a 75 percent increase in our estimates of the asteroid’s volume or mass,” said Thomas Müller of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching, Germany, and lead scientist of the study.

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