NASA announced this week that Earth will remain safe from the threat of the impact of a specific asteroid for at least the next 100 years.
According to the space agency, the new observations of the telescope ruled out the possibility of reaching 1,100 ft. the asteroid “Apophis” came into contact with Earth in 2068, The Associated Press reported.
NASA has previously mentioned concern that Apophis could seriously approach Earth in 2029 and 2036 before recently ruling out these possibilities.
Now, according to the press, Apophis has been officially removed from the agency’s asteroid “risk list”.
“An impact from 2068 is no longer in the field of possibilities, and our calculations pose no risk of impact for at least the next 100 years,” Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s Center for Earth Object Studies told AP.
Earlier this month, scientists were able to refine the space rock’s orbit around the sun through radar observations. It seems that Apophis will come less than 20,000 miles from Earth in April 2029 and will allow astronomers to look at it better.
“When I started working with asteroids after college, Apophis was the poster child of dangerous asteroids,” Farnocchia said.
“There is a certain sense of satisfaction when I see him removed from the list of risks.”