March 29, 2021
Apophis’ flyby in early March 2021 enabled astronomers to conclude there’s no chance this asteroid will strike Earth anytime soon. “A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore,” one scientist said, “and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years.”
During the asteroid Apophis’ most recent flyby in early March, astronomers were busy taking observations of this infamous space rock. Later calculations let NASA scientists announce on March 26, 2021, that Earth is safe from an impact with the relatively large asteroid for at least the next 100 years. Radar observations taken at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in California and the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia have officially ruled out an impact in 2068, the only year out of the next 100 that previously showed a slight risk. Earlier observations had ruled out impacts during the upcoming 2029 and 2036 flybys.