Asteroid Apophis to sweep close 5 years from tomorrow

Asteroid Apophis to sweep close 5 years from tomorrow On Friday, April 13, 2029, a relatively large and extremely infamous asteroid named 99942 Apophis will zoom past Earth. It’ll be easily visible to the eye. But Apophis will not strike us in 2029. For a time, initial observations of this asteroid suggested that - if, at the 2029 pass, Apophis passed through a region of space only half a mile wide (about 800 meters wide), dubbed a “keyhole” by astronomers - then it might strike us later on April 13, 2036. But, by 2006, that idea had been disproven. Apophis is exciting! Here’s the story of this amazing asteroid. Media we love: The Big Ones, a book review Kelly Kizer Whitt recommends The Big Ones: How Natural Disasters Have Shaped Us (And What We Can Do About Them), a book by well-known earthquake scientist Lucy Jones. What many of us think of as disasters - earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and volcanoes - are natural events. The resulting disaster isn't inevitable. Jones discusses some of the "big ones" that changed our world and how we can work to prevent the disaster that often follows. Learn more about The Big Ones. Sun activity back to high! We've had some days of low sun activity, including April 8, the day of the total solar eclipse. But now a new active region - just out of sight over the sun's northeastern limb, or edge - has brought sun activity to high again, with an isolated M5.5 flare. The sun's east is the side just now rotating into view. And both the northeast and southeast look pretty active as well, with arching, long-lasting prominences, flares, and jets. What will happen next? Read the sun news.