The author of a disaster novel couldn't have dreamed it up any better: On a Friday, the thirteenth of all days, the potentially dangerous asteroid (99942) Apophis ... an area the size of Central ...

In 2029, Earth will have a hair-raisingly close encounter with asteroid 99942 Apophis, a colossal space rock that could wreak havoc if it were to hit us—but it’ll come shockingly close.

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs. When scientists first discovered the asteroid 99942 Apophis in 2004, they also ...

But now that we’re here, it would be nice if we could avoid future asteroid calamities, and one of the more threatening space rocks in our neck of the stellar woods is known as 99942 Apophis.