OREANDA-NEWS. The asteroid Apophis that is potentially dangerous for the Earth is changing its orbit. This change could lead to a collision with the Earth in 2068.

This space object was discovered in 2004 by a team led by David Tholen of the University of Hawaii. The asteroid Apophis made mankind worry when it turned out that he had a series of approaches to the Earth.

The asteroid will approach the Earth several times. So, in 2029, this 300-meter object will come so close to our planet that it will cross the orbits of geostationary satellites and will be visible to the naked eye. The next convergence will take place in 2036, and another in 2068.

Therefore, it is important for specialists to calculate the trajectory of Apophis as accurately as possible. They took into account the gravity of all bodies that could affect the movement of the asteroid. Precise calculations using supercomputers have shown that you can breathe out: the asteroid will not collide with the Earth.

However, it was recently revealed that Apophis changes its orbit under the influence of a force of non-gravitational origin. It was not taken into account in previous calculations, and now scientists have to double-check their comforting conclusions.

Scientists say that the trajectory of Apophis deviates from the calculated by 170 meters per year. This is not enough to lead to a collision in 2029 or 2036. But it is no longer known whether the asteroid will collide with the Earth in 2068.