Apophis the Destroyer

Apophis was an ancient Egyptian deity, an evil dragon, the demon of darkness and chaos, who was vanquished every morning by the sun god, Ra.

How apt it is that his name should be given to a near-Earth asteroid, originally designated 2004 MN4, which in the not-too-distant future may cause calamity here on Earth. According to an article in the current November/December issue of Australian Sky & Telescope magazine, there is a chance that the 320-metres diameter Apophis may smash into the Earth in the year 2036, on Sunday April 13. (It will also pass very closely to the Earth seven years earlier, in 2029, on the very same date.)

At one point, the probability of a disastrous collision by Apophis with the Earth was calculated at 1 in 37. Why, you might ask, didn’t we hear about it? Well, at the time the news was swamped by a more immediate disaster, the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. As further observation of Apophis has refined our knowledge of the asteroid and its orbit, that probability has improved recently to 1 in 48,000.

So, the good and bad news is... It may never happen – but this could be the big one.