Talk:99942 Apophis

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Contradiction in the article

Can someone verify and/or correct it?

Early in the article, under "Discovery and Naming", it says that the 2029 close approach will convert Apophis "from an Apollo- into an Aten-type asteroid".

Later in the article it says the opposite: from Aten to Apollo. Lots of detail is given there that supports this, so I think this is correct and the earlier text had it transposed. Right? Thanks.

MarkGoldfain (talk) 18:40, 22 November 2025 (UTC)

@MarkGoldfain: That was my doing (Special:Diff/1305388717). But you're right, it's mixed up. Nice catch! Renerpho (talk) 18:52, 22 November 2025 (UTC)

@Renerpho: Thank you! In this, I learned what those designations mean.  :-)

Now that you've fixed the issue, do we delete this talk topic? MarkGoldfain (talk) 00:16, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

@MarkGoldfain: No, we usually don't remove discussions on Wikipedia. Once resolved, topic like this one will be automatically archived here in a few months; no further action is needed. Renerpho (talk) 03:34, 25 November 2025 (UTC)

Popular culture

Would putting a sentence or two about the https://skaianetsystems.com website linked to Homestuck be not allowed? There's mentions of Apophis in hidden folders on the site and a "disestablishment countdown" to 4/13/2029. ~2026-23054-01 (talk) 18:15, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

I accidentally hit post twice :( ~2026-23054-01 (talk) 18:15, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

I accidentally hit post twice -- No problem. @~2026-23054-01: Are there any sources that report this? Where did you learn about it? Renerpho (talk) 03:02, 15 April 2026 (UTC)

Needs improvement

As mentioned here, this article isn't in great shape. Looking at just the lead section now, it has far too much detail on the (ruled out) possibility of an Earth impact, and doesn't mention the planned exploration of this asteroid at all. SevenSpheres (talk) 18:37, 15 July 2026 (UTC)

@SevenSpheres: I've done a bit of work on the article. It's certainly not perfect, but I hope it's an improvement. Could you have a look and, if appropriate, point to specific problems that remain to be solved? Renerpho (talk) 02:27, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

I'd further reduce the discussion of possible impacts, which still takes up most of the lead, and add mentions of other topics like its physical properties, discovery and naming. Compare other articles on asteroids targeted by spacecraft. SevenSpheres (talk) 02:57, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

I'll have a look later. Renerpho (talk) 04:00, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

For better or worse, the most notable aspect of Apophis is the history of potential impact threats, internet hysteria, and clickbait for profit. You really can not compare it to other asteroid articles. -- Kheider (talk) 12:04, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

Yes, you can. The impact threat is an important part of its story, but it's no longer the whole story. I'm not sure what you mean by "clickbait for profit", but whatever it is, we don't need to jump on that bandwagon. There is enough interesting content about this asteroid, much of it related to the upcoming opportunity of studying it during the exceptional close encounter in 2029. Renerpho (talk) 12:47, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

Maybe Bennu is a good comparison, as another near-Earth asteroid with discussion of impact risk. Its lead probably isn't perfect either though. SevenSpheres (talk) 15:59, 16 July 2026 (UTC)

New lead image

Just added an up-to-date artist rendering which IMO provides a much better impression of how the asteroid looks.

Note that Apophis will make an exceptionally close flyby of Earth on 13 April 2029, passing only about 32,000 km from Earth's surface. NASA's OSIRIS-APEX mission is planned to rendezvous with Apophis after the flyby, and ESA's Ramses mission is being prepared specifically to observe it before and during the encounter. These missions should return the first genuine close-up spacecraft images of the asteroid.

Last not least, this is quite interesting as well: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/03/Hera_Mars_flyby OApopcult (talk) 11:45, 22 July 2026 (UTC)