'God of Chaos' asteroid could hit Earth on Friday 13th as astronomer maps catastrophic collision course

The "God of Chaos" asteroid might be on a collision path with Earth after all, in a chilling update to previous assessments that dismissed the threat .

99942 Apophis, its official cosmic moniker, was spotted back in 2004 and at one point in 2017, it was believed to have a 2.7% chance of smashing into our world in 2029. Expert stargazers later discounted any risk of a crash in either 2029 or 2036.

It was anticipated to cosy up close to Earth on a fateful Friday, April 13, 2029, keeping a safe distance of only 18,300 miles away.

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But now, Canadian space expert Paul Wiegert has discovered that this forecast could be spectacularly overturned if a "small object" barrels into Apophis. He breaks down the science behind it all: "The odds of an unseen small asteroid deflecting Apophis enough to direct it into a collision with Earth in 2029 (d 3.4 m, v > 5 102 m s1) are approximately 108.", reports the Daily Star .

He further quantifies that a mere 5% chance that such a nudge would put it on an Earth-crashing trajectory means the likelihood of a catastrophic event is less than a dicey one in two billion.

For those scratching their heads, Google Gemini clears up the jargon, pointing out that asteroid-altering distance "d" should clock in at no less than 3.4 meters, while the speed alteration "v" needs a minimum bump over 5 102 meters per second to shift Apophis's flight plan.

In a slightly foreboding heads-up, the specialist said, "An additional element of the story is that Apophis has been largely unmonitored by telescopes since May 2021 and will remain so through 2027.

"This arises simply because of the relative geometry of Apophis, Earth, and the Sun, which puts the asteroid in the daytime sky for the time span in question."