NASA announces exact date 'God of Chaos' asteroid will pass close to Earth

NASA has confirmed exactly when a rare, colossal-sized asteroid will hurtle past Earth, coming closer to our planet than any other celestial object of its size in human history. The asteroid - called as Apophis , in what feels like an ill omen as it was named after the ancient Egyptian God of evil and destruction - will come very close to our planet in the not too distant future. This week the National Aeronautics and Space Administration - or, more commonly, NASA - confirmed the asteroid is on track to safely pass by Earth in 2029. It will light up the night's sky to the naked eye on one what the superstitious consider to be one of the unluckiest days imaginable: Friday, April 13 (2029). It will come within 20,000 miles of our planet’s surface — closer than the distance of many satellites in orbit. Or, to put it in laymen's terms, that's nearly 12 times closer than the moon’s average distance from Earth. When the Near-Earth asteroid was discovered in 2004, it appeared that Apophis might make impact with Earth in either 2029, 2036, or 2068. Since then, astronomers have closely watched Apophis using optical telescopes and ground-based radar, allowing its orbit to become better understood. Based on this data, NASA now believes there is no risk of Apophis impacting Earth for at least 100 years. NASA originally gave the huge space rock at a 2.7% chance of devastating our planet, but all danger was ruled out after new radar observations in 2021. What it does mean is that an asteroid of its size passing so close to our planet is a rare event that will provide scientists across the globe an opportunity to study the God of Chaos up close and personal. NASA said in 2021 of the 2029 fly-by: "This will be the closest approach by something this large currently known. Apophis will be visible to the naked eye for several hours, and Earth tides will probably change its spin state." Early observations of Apophis' shape suggest it looks similar to a peanut. In fact, the God of Chaos spans about 1,230 feet, just taller than the Eiffel Tower which stands at 1,083-feet. NASA is currently tracking around 2,000 asteroids, comets and other objects that could fly close to Earth. Most asteroids don't come into contact with Earth's atmosphere, but rarely the giant space rocks can impact weather systems. Earth hasn't seen an asteroid of apocalyptic scale since the space rock that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.