near-Earth asteroid
Apophis
A near-Earth asteroid that will pass extremely close to Earth in April 2029 – a rare chance to study a flyby without risk.
- Distance from Earth today
- 204.6 million km1.368 AU · light: 11 min 22 s
- Distance from the Sun today
- 114.5 million km0.766 AU
- As of
- 2 November 2026position from NASA/JPL orbital elements
Where it is today
Top view of the plane of Earth’s orbit, compressed distance scale. Open on the big map with the time slider →
Facts
- Diameter
- 0.34 km
- Rotation period
- 30.6 h
- Semi-major axis
- 0.922 AU (138.0 million km)
- Perihelion
- 0.746 AU
- Aphelion
- 1.099 AU
- Orbital period
- 323.5 days (0.89 years)
- Orbital eccentricity
- 0.191
- Orbital inclination
- 3.3°
- Last perihelion
- 2 January 2026
- Next perihelion
- 21 November 2026
- Minimum orbit distance from Earth’s orbit (MOID)
- 0.000 AU (16,100 km)
- Albedo
- 0.350
Source of the figures: JPL Small-Body Database (public domain).
Discovery: 2004 – Roy A. Tucker, David J. Tholen, Fabrizio Bernardi
Description
Apophis was discovered in 2004 at Kitt Peak by Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi, and for a short time it caused alarm when early calculations gave it a notable chance of hitting Earth in 2029. Further observations ruled out any impact for at least the next century. On 13 April 2029 it will pass closer to Earth than geostationary satellites, and should be visible to the naked eye from parts of the world. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX – the former OSIRIS-REx spacecraft – is set to study it after the encounter, and ESA is preparing the Ramses mission. Its name comes from Apep, the serpent of chaos in Egyptian mythology.