Asteroid 2004 MN4

Courtesy of Ryan Casner:

On Friday the 13th in the year 2029 an asteroid will pass only 18,600 miles above the Earth’s surface. To put things in perspective, the satellites that orbit Earth are at a distance of 22,300 miles. Now that I have your attention, the Asteroid named 2004 MN4 was originally discovered in June of 2004. It is 320 meters wide according to NASA and if it were to hit land it would be capable of having an area of effect the size of Texas. NASA stated that close approaches by objects this large would occur only once every one-thousand years. The asteroid will approach Earth; its trajectory will be altered by the Earth’s gravitational pull by 28 degrees and then had back out into space. Some scientists are hypothesizing the chances of the asteroid re-entering our orbit in the year 2035 but most are in agreement that it is not plausible. Asteroid 2004 MN4 will be more easily predicted by the year 2013 where it will be only 9 million miles from Earth allowing radar systems to track even its slightest movements. By 2013 it is expected that scientists will be able to forecast its movements until the year 2070. Original estimates of this asteroid show just how much more knowledge we have gained of this Near Earth Asteroid (NEA). NASA initially believed Asteroid 2004 MN4, also called Apophis, to be 400 meters wide and would pass the Earth at 2 lunar distances, or 480,000 miles. Only a year after these estimates did they refine it to the previous numbers I gave in the beginning. In December of 2004, Apophis was issued a 4 on The Torino Impact Hazard Scale. The Torino Scale has 10 points and 5 zones ranging from white, green, yellow, orange and red. These go from least threatening to most threatening, respectively. A 4 is the highest point within the yellow zone and translated to a close encounter of 1% or greater possibility of collision which could lead to destruction, however new observations will most likely drop it down to Level 0. It also should be recognized publicly if the event is expected to be within a decade.
Sources: www.nasa.gov