Asteroid 99942 Apophis is a primordial relic from the formation of our Solar System.
Current predictions are that Apophis will pass between 18, 880 and 20, 880 miles from earth.
To test out this idea, Paek simulated the asteroid Apophis, which will pass nearby the Earth in 2029.
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Nasa estimates that if Apophis were to hit Earth, it would explode with as much energy as 400 megatonnes of TNT.
Ideally, say advocates of such a mission, Apophis' orbit would need to be changed before 2025 to be sure it misses the Earth.
The asteroid that has made the space community sit up and take notice is nicknamed Apophis, after the Egyptian god of destruction.
One asteroid, the 300-m Apophis, will pass relatively close to Earth a number of times in the coming decades, including in 2029.
There is a so-called keyhole a narrow range of orbits that would return Apophis in 2036, should it pass through the keyhole in 2029.
ECONOMIST: The American Association for the Advancement of Science
Hitting the earth at 28, 000 mph an asteroid the size and mass of Apophis would pack the energy of 58, 000 Hiroshima nuclear bombs.
Astronomers are currently trying to work out whether a 270-metre asteroid named 99942 Apophis will hit Earth in 2036 (probably not, but it would be nice to be sure).
The probe would spend three years stalking Apophis so that, if it did appear to be heading towards the keyhole, action could be taken to divert it well before 2029.
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: Radar observations made during this week's close encounter with the asteroid Apophis have ruled out the risk of a collision with Earth in 2036, NASA says.
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Apophis is some 350 metres across, considerably larger than the object that is thought to have flattened 2, 000 square kilometres of Siberian forest as it vaporised in the atmosphere above Tunguska in 1908.
The keyhole is just 600 metres wide, and forthcoming data are expected to show Apophis will not pass through it, ruling out further possible collisions with the asteroid for the next 100 years.
ECONOMIST: The American Association for the Advancement of Science
During the simulation of the 2029 encounter with Apophis, it became clear that under the right conditions, the asteroid would be deflected into a new orbit that would send it back to threaten Earth exactly seven years later.
ECONOMIST: The American Association for the Advancement of Science
If Apophis passes the earth at a distance of exactly 18, 893 miles it will open a "gravitational keyhole" causing it to enter a new orbit that would put it on a direct collision course with earth seven years later.
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