How To Watch Menacing Space Rock Apophis Fly Past Earth Tomorrow
Deadly Space Rocks ESA - P.CarrilThere's an ever-so-slight chance the asteroid could impact Earth in 2036. Although not nearly as threatening as it was first perceived to be upon its discovery, the asteroid 99942 Apophis still has a very slight chance of impacting our planet on Friday, April 13, 2036. It will get closer to Earth this year, giving astronomers a chance to refine its trajectory for good and know whether we're in trouble. And you can get a glimpse of it online tomorrow, courtesy of the Slooh Space Camera. The 27-megaton asteroid has a diameter of roughly three football fields, and would pack a society-ending punch if it really impacted Earth. So astronomers are interested in nailing down its trajectory and characteristics. At its maximum brightness, it will still be quite dim, with an apparent magnitude of 19.7. That's not bright enough for a backyard telescope, but it should be...