A 335m wide asteroid named 99942 Apophis will make a brief introduction to Earth before sailing by, gaining light and momentum as it does so in April 2029.
The asteroid will be in the same vicinity as spacecraft that orbit Earth and around the 30,000km mark, it will be visible in the night sky as a streaking light over the East and West coasts of Australia.
The object will then pass over the Indian Ocean, west over Africa and then cross the Atlantic to reach the United States by early-mid evening.
The event has scientists overjoyed at the potential to use instruments that can collect data of the asteroid surface to the meter and provide information on planetary defences against impacts in future.
You might be thinking; "won't Earth's gravitational pull throw off the trajectory of the asteroid?' and you would be correct in saying so.
The "contact" with Earth's space jurisdiction will change how the asteroid orbits and spins creating changes to its surface.
99942 Apophis is just one of about 2,000 known asteroids that are heading toward Earth that could be hazardous, although the likelihood of us meeting up close and personal is about 1 in 100,000 and many decades from now.
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