(Independent) – On 13 April 2029, people looking towards the sky will see a speck of light streaking across it, which will quickly get brighter and faster. It will be traveling so fast that it will cross the width of the Moon in a minute and be as bright as stars in the sky. Scientists have named the rock Apophis, after the Egyptian god of chaos. The glowing speck will be a huge asteroid, 340 meters across, that Nasa is already preparing to watch as it flies past Earth.
The space agency says that it will fly far enough away as to be harmless – at a distance of 19,000 miles – but that is as close as some of the spacecraft that flies past Earth. It is also close enough that researchers will be able to get an unprecedented look at the asteroid itself. They will be able to see the rock in sharp detail, allowing them to observe it in new ways. It’s very rare for asteroids of this size to go past so close. Scientists have seen smaller asteroids at a closer distance, but something of such a colossal size are far fewer in number, Nasa said. READ MORE
