Asteroid APOPHIS: Demonic serpent close up view THIS WEEK

PLANET Earth will get a close look at a wandering demon when asteroid Apophis passes within a few million kilometres on Thursday.

99942 Apophis - named after the Egyptian demonic serpent-spirit of destruction - blasted itself into public awareness back in 2004 when astronomers calculated a 1 in 45 chance of it hitting the Earth on 13 April 2029.

New data and fresh calculations have all but ruled out the risk for 2029 - but exposed a small chance that the asteroid could get alarmingly close in 2036.

The 390m lump of space rock will be close enough to be seen in the night sky after it has passed its closest point at 14.5 million kilometres later this week.

Russia has gone so far as to announce plans to land a homing beacon on Apophis in 2020 to guarantee pinpoint accuracy.

That's not to say it won't get close in 2029: It is calculated to skim past at 30,000km. The Moon orbits at 385,000km, and communication satellites at 36,000km.

[link to www.perthnow.com.au]