AN asteroid named for the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness won’t be wreaking any havoc on Earth — at least not this century. That’s the good news from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), released Friday.

Asteroid 99942 Apophis has been considered one of the most hazardous asteroids with the potential to impact Earth since its discovery in 2004. Now, scientists have revised that opinion after a precise analysis of the asteroid’s orbit.

Previous predictions noted that the 1,110-foot-wide (335.28 -meter-wide) asteroid might be too close for comfort in 2029, 2036, and it could have a slight chance of impacting Earth in 2068.

It recently passed within 10 million miles (16.09 million kilometers) of Earth on March 5.

During that distant flyby, astronomers used radar observations to get a better handle on the asteroid’s orbit around the sun. Their results allowed them to rule out any risk of the asteroid impacting Earth in 2068. The previous concerns about 2029 and 2036 had already been put aside due to prediction refinements and research.

“A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility anymore, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years,” said Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer and researcher at CNEOS, in a statement.

“With the support of recent optical observations and additional radar observations, the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit has collapsed from hundreds of kilometers to just a handful of kilometers when projected to 2029,” Farnocchia said. “This greatly improved knowledge of its position in 2029 provides more certainty of its future motion, so we can now remove Apophis from the risk list.”

The CNEOS Center maintains a risk list, tracking asteroids with orbits that bring them close to Earth — close enough to cause concern over a potential impact. Scientists at the center use radar and telescopes to study near-Earth objects and understand the dangers they may pose to the planet.

(SD-Agencies)