Asteroid Apophis to make historic close pass of Earth in 2029

A large asteroid named after a god of chaos is on track for a historic close pass of Earth, according to NASA. The space agency says the "potentially hazardous asteroid" will come closer than many orbiting satellites and should be visible from the Eastern Hemisphere without telescope or binoculars. However, there's no risk of it impacting our planet for at least 100 years.

Named Apophis after an Egyptian deity known as the god of chaos and eternal darkness, it's scheduled to pass Earth on 13 April 2029. The European Space Agency is sending a spacecraft to shadow it as it speeds by, while NASA has also redirected its OSIRIS craft to follow the asteroid.

NASA says it is "very rare" for an asteroid so large to come this close: it's at least 450m (1,480ft) long - about the height of the Eiffel Tower. It will reach 20,000 miles (32,000km) from the Earth's surface, making it the closest approach by an asteroid of this size that scientists have known about in advance.

"It's likely that an event like this has not happened at any time in recorded human history," NASA says. "Without a doubt this is the first time it's happened when humans have had the technology to observe it."

Apophis is a remnant from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago and originated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. "Over millions of years, its orbit was changed primarily by the gravitational influence of large planets like Jupiter so that it now orbits the Sun closer to Earth," NASA says.

Apophis was discovered in 2004 by astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen, and Fabrizio Bernardi at Kitt Peak observatory near Tucson in the US state of Arizona.