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99942 Apophis (provisional designation 2004 MN 4) is a near-Earth asteroid and a potentially hazardous object, 450 metres (1,480 ft) by 170 metres (560 ft) in size, [3] that caused a brief period of concern in December 2004 when initial observations indicated a probability of 2.7% that it would hit Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029.
Scientists estimate that several dozen asteroids in the 6–12 m (20–39 ft) size range fly by Earth at a distance closer than the moon every year, but only a fraction of these are actually detected. [1] [2] See also lists dedicated to specific years such as List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2023.
[12] [18] This is the second-highest Torino scale rating an asteroid has ever reached, behind 99942 Apophis which briefly ranked Torino scale level 4 in late 2004. [18] NASA gives a Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale rating of −0.29 for 2024 YR 4, which corresponds to an impact hazard of 51.3% of the background hazard level. [7]
For a brief period in late December 2004, with an observation arc of 190 days, asteroid 99942 Apophis (then known only by its provisional designation 2004 MN 4) held the record for the highest Palermo scale value, with a value of 1.10 for a possible collision in the year 2029. [15]
The only objects on the Torino scale that have ever ranked higher are asteroids 99942 Apophis, which had a rating of 4 for four days in late 2004, the highest recorded rating, (144898) 2004 VD 17, with a historical rating of 2 from February to May 2006, and 2024 YR 4, with a rating of 3 from 27 January 2025 that is valid as of 7 February 2025.
In a bit of ominous news befitting a Friday the 13th: It turns out that the asteroid Apophis could have a very small chance of colliding into Earth in five years, when it is expected to make a ...
On December 24, 2004, 370 m (1,210 ft) asteroid 99942 Apophis ... While the size of a very small fraction of these asteroids is known to better than 1%, ...
The only object that has ever been rated at 4 on the Torino Scale (since downgraded), the Aten asteroid (99942) Apophis, has an Earth MOID of 0.00026 AU (39,000 km; 24,000 mi). This is not the smallest Earth MOID in the catalogues; many bodies with a small Earth MOID are not classed as PHO's because the objects are less than roughly 140 meters ...