New observations from NASA have confirmed that the asteroid Apophis, which was expected to pose a threat to Earth in 2068, will not come close to hitting us for at least a century.
Astronauts were frightened when the asteroid was first discovered in 2004 because their calculations showed the potential for it to collide with us.
This date has been pushed back to 2068, and NASA has now been pushing disaster back for at least another 100 years, although if it passes us by 2029 it still will do not shave closely.
Named after an ancient Egyptian deity who symbolized evil and chaos, the asteroid is about 1,100 feet (340m) across.
If an object of mass Apophis hit the Earth it released the equivalent energy of a 506-megatonne bomb – 28,000 times more powerful than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Apophis is expected to pass safely about 19,800 miles (21,000 km) from the surface of our planet – a safe distance, but still close enough to come between us and the moon.
It even comes within the distance of some geostationary satellites orbiting the Earth.
“The impact of 2068 is no longer in the capacity scenario, and our calculations do not show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years,” said Davide Farnocchia of NASA’s center for near-Earth material studies.
“With the help of recent optical observation and additional radar observations, the uncertainty in the Apophis orbit has fallen from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers when projected to 2029.
“This much improved experience set in 2029 provides more certainty about its future movement, so we can now remove Apophis from the risk list,” Mr Farnocchia said.
During the flyby in 2029, the asteroid will be visible to the naked eye.
Stars in the Southern Hemisphere will be able to see the speck of light first, move from east to west over Australia before crossing the Indian Ocean and crossing the equator over Africa.
According to NASA, as it passes Earth it will get brighter and faster. At one point in its orbit it appears to travel more than the width of the moon within minutes.