Asteroid WARNING as space rock Apophis named after Egyptian god of evil could ‘smash into Earth in 2068’
An ominous space rock is on a collision course with our planet
AN ASTEROID the size of seven London buses could cause mayhem on our planet.
The doomsday space rock Apophis is named after the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness and may be on a collision course with Earth.
It's expected to make several close passes to Earth this century, the most dangerous of which is due in 2068.
Russian scientists fear Apophis, full name Apophis 99942, could smash into Earth at speeds of 15,000 miles per hour.
They say the deadly rock's path around the sun means there are 100 "possible collisions between Apophis and the Earth, the most dangerous of them in 2068".
However, it's not time to panic just yet – Apophis has just a one-in-250,000 chance of actually colliding with our planet, according to Nasa.
"Apophis has been one of those celestial bodies that has captured the public’s interest since it was discovered in 2004," said Nasa’s Steve Chesley.
"Updated computational techniques and newly available data indicate the probability of an Earth encounter on April 13, 2036, for Apophis has dropped from one-in-45,000 to about four-in-a million."
The 370-meter-wide space rock was discovered in June 2017.
It was only spotted via a space telescope in Hawaii after it had sped by our planet, and could have caused chaos if it hit Earth.
It passed within just 548,000 miles of our planet, relatively close in space terms.
While the asteroid is not big enough to obliterate Earth, it could do some serious damage at the local level.
The huge space rock will whizz by in less than one-tenth of the distance between the Earth and the moon in 2029 closer than some of our satellites.
And it's sure to pass by Earth again, with scientists unsure as to how close its next flyby will come.
What's the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here's what you need to know, according to Nasa...
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it'll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn't vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth's atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vapourising)
Alberto Cellino of the Astrophysical Observatory of Turin said: "We can rule out a collision at the next closest approach with the Earth, but then the orbit will change in a way that is not fully predictable just now, so we cannot predict the behaviour on a longer timescale."
A leading astrophysicist from Queen's University Belfast reckons an asteroid strike is just a matter of time.
In 1908 a small asteroid exploded over Tunguska in Siberia and devastated 800 square miles.
Prof Alan Fitzsimmons from the uni's Astrophysics Research Centre warned that a similar unexpected strike today would be catastrophic and said: "Scientists and engineers have made great strides in detecting Near-Earth Asteroids and understanding the threat posed.
"Over 1,800 potentially hazardous objects have been discovered so far, but there are many more waiting to be found."
"Astronomers find Near-Earth Asteroids every day and most are harmless.
"But it is still possible the next Tunguska would take us by surprise, and although we are much better at finding larger asteroids, that does us no good if we are not prepared to do something about them."
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.