Asteroid Apophis to Skirt Earth in April 2029, Visible to Most of the World

The near‑Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis, about 340 metres across – roughly the height of the Eiffel Tower – will pass within approximately 32 000 km of Earth on 13 April 2029. NASA and the European Space Agency have confirmed that the object poses no impact risk for at least the next century.

Scientists say the fly‑by will be observable with the naked eye for roughly 90 % of the global population, about 7.6 billion people, provided local conditions such as darkness, clear skies and low light‑pollution. Visibility maps produced at a workshop in Padua, Italy, indicate the asteroid will appear as a steady point of light moving about the apparent width of the full Moon each minute.

The event offers a rare opportunity for public observation and for researchers to study how Earth's gravity may slightly alter the asteroid’s shape and orbit. NASA is redirecting the OSIRIS‑REx probe to the object under the "OSIRIS‑APEX" mission, while ESA plans a dedicated spacecraft named "Ramses" to accompany the fly‑by and gather close‑up data.