Huge Asteroid Apophis Revealed in Photos

Asteroid Apophis Illustration

An artist's illustration of asteroid Apophis near Earth. The asteroid will fly extremely close to Earth in 2029, and then again in 2036, but poses no threat of hitting the planet either time.

NASA Rules Out Earth Impact in 2036 for Asteroid Apophis

Asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004.

Asteroid Apophis Orbit

This promotional image for the Virtual Telescope shows the orbit of asteroid Apophis. Image released Dec. 14, 2012.

Asteroid Apophis on Jan. 8, 2013

At about 36 hours from the minimum distance (9.3 million miles or 15 million kilometers from Earth), potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis was imaged again with the Virtual Telescope, on Jan. 8, 2013.

Herschel’s Three-Color View of Asteroid Apophis

ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory captured asteroid Apophis in its field of view during the approach to Earth on January, 5-6, 2013. This image shows the asteroid in Herschel’s three PACS wavelengths: 70, 100 and 160 microns.

Apophis Temperature Model

Temperature coded (in Kelvin) spherical shape model used for the thermal analysis of asteroid Apophis, based on data from the new Herschel observations. Note that this is a model. Image released Jan. 9, 2013.

Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Apophis Getting Closer

The Virtual Telescope is continuing to track potentially hazardous asteroid Apophis. It will reach a distance of 9.3 million miles (15 million kilometers) from the Earth in Jan. 2013, with no risks of collision with our planet. The telescope mount tracked the apparent motion of the object, giving trailed stars.

Apophis

An artist's rendering of the asteroid Apophis.

See You Soon, Apophis Asteroid

The asteroid Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004. It will fly within 18,300 miles of Earth on April 13, 2029, but poses little risk of impact.

Georgia Team's Apophis Probe

An illustration of the Foresight spacecraft proposal to swing by the Apophis asteroid to track its movements.

Image of asteroid Apophis from Jan. 31, 2011

The potentially dangerous asteroid Apophis (circled) is seen here, in a composite of five exposures taken Jan. 31 by a telescope in Hawaii. The doughnut in the upper left corner is an artifact caused by a dust speck on the camera.