The head of the Russian space agency surprised scientists recently when he announced that his country needs to start figuring out how to deflect a big asteroid that will pass very close to Earth in about 20 years.
When Apophis was discovered in 2004 NASA thought there was a slight chance that the big rock could hit Earth when it passes by in 2029 and again in 2036. But studies since then have allowed scientists to rule out a direct hit in 2029 and they say it is highly unlikely that the country-busting asteroid will pose a threat in 2036 either.
With so many asteroids floating out in deep space, some do pose a threat to Earth. And, now scientists are going to take a closer look at ways to nudge dangerous rocks away from our planet.
Update: The asteroid known as 2010 AL30 zipped past Earth on January 13, staying about 80,000 miles away. But a Utah astronomer did capture the whole transit on video.
