Science Questions

How close is the Apophis asteroid going to come to us?

How close is the Apophis asteroid going to come to us? Do I need to build a shelter? Mark, Bletchley

The Apophis asteroid is due to fly past the earth in 2029, and there is some speculation that it could come back and collide with the Earth later.  A company in Stevenage have announced that they would like to build a spacecraft to go and rendezvous with the asteroid to discover more about it.  By flying up to meet the asteroid we can find out far more that we can from Earth, and if we find out early enough about it's projected course we have time to try and knock it out of the way!  Should you build a shelter, probably not, but you've got 30 years in which to do it!

September 2007