Scientists Say a ‘2068 Impact Scenario Is Still in Play’ for 1,000-Foot-Wide Asteroid

A new report from the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy indicates that a 1,000-foot-wide asteroid called Apophis may pass very close to Earth in 2068.

While tracking the asteroid, which is named after the Egyptian god of chaos, scientists found it has sped up due to an orbital process called the Yarkovsky effect.

“The new observations we obtained with the Subaru telescope earlier this year were good enough to reveal the Yarkovsky acceleration of Apophis,” University of Hawaii astronomer Dr. David Tholen said in a statement. “[T]hey show that the asteroid is drifting away from a purely gravitational orbit by about 170 meters per year, which is enough to keep the 2068 impact scenario in play. Small, but non-zero.” He also noted that even without the acceleration, “Apophis is still a threatening object, just not in 2068.”

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