Asteroid Apophis’ closest encounters with other known asteroids

Asteroid Apophis is most famous for its close passes to Earth, which are expected in 2029 and 2036. The asteroid will miss the Earth safely on these occasions. A research paper by Wiegert & Hyatt (2024) in the Planetary Science Journal examines the possibility of Apophis bumping into another asteroid before its next close pass in April 2029, which could change its predicted path. Fortunately no such asteroid collisions are anticipated, but the closest passes of Apophis to other known asteroids up to 2029 are illustrated here by computer animation.