NASA: No Asteroid Apophis Earth Impact in 2036

NASA Rules out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis

Jan. 11, 2013 — NASA scientists at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., effectively have ruled out the possibility the asteroid Apophis will impact Earth during a close flyby in 2036. The scientists used updated information obtained by NASA-supported telescopes in 2011 and 2012, as well as new data from the time leading up to Apophis' distant Earth flyby Jan. 9, 2013.

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Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004. (Credit: UH/IA)

Discovered in 2004, the asteroid, which is the size of three-and-a-half football fields, gathered the immediate attention of space scientists and the media when initial calculations of its orbit indicated a 2.7 percent possibility of an Earth impact during a close flyby in 2029. Data discovered during a search of old astronomical images provided the additional information required to rule out the 2029 impact scenario, but a remote possibility of one in 2036 remained -- until Wednesday.

More - Link >>> http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130111133502.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fspace_time+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Space+%26+Time+News%29&utm_content=Yahoo!+Mail

Sources: NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ScienceDaily.com .

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