Apophis
Copyright © 2006 by Joel Marks Revision of “Reckoning Might Come from Sky,” New Haven Register, April 13, 2006, page A6 Twenty-three years from today, on April 13, 2029, the residents of this planet will witness an unprecedented harbinger of their doom. An asteroid the size of the Empire State Building will be visible to the naked eye as it hurtles by at a distance of less than the earth’s circumference. The asteroid's scientific name is 99942 Apophis. Its proper name comes from the Greek rendering of Apep, the ancient Egyptian spirit of destruction. This name fits. If Apophis were to strike the earth, it would wreak untold havoc. And given certain as-yet unknown contingencies of the asteroid's orbit, it might do just that. It is especially meet to reflect on this today, which commemorates the ancient Passover, when people in Egypt took steps to assure God’s slaughterous spirit would pass over or spare them. Apophis was discovered on June 19, 2004, when it was given the ...