Armada to Apophis-scientists recycle old ideas for rare asteroid encounter

The three most important things about Apophis are: It will miss the Earth. It will miss the Earth. It will miss the Earth," said Richard Binzel, a professor of planetary science at MIT.

"An asteroid this large comes this close only once per 1,000 years, or less frequently," Binzel told Ars. "This is an experiment that nature is doing for us, bringing a large asteroid this close, such that Earth's gravitational forces and tidal forces are going to tug and possibly shake this asteroid."

"It's important to get a glimpse of Apophis before and after its closest approach in 2029, when it will pass less than 20,000 miles from Earth's surface," said Richard Binzel.

Read at Ars Technica