A much-feared asteroid called Apophis is unlikely to hit Earth for at least another 100 years, Nasa has confirmed.
Scientists have been concerned about Apophis, a 340-metre (1,100ft) chunk of space rock, after it was discovered in 2004.
Its orbit has led to some worrying forecasts with one expert branding it a “poster child for hazardous asteroids”.
The asteroid was predicted to come dangerously close to Earth in 2029 and again in 2036 but Nasa ruled these out.
However there had been concerns of a potential collision in 2068.
But thanks to new telescope observations the space agency has ruled out a collision and Apophis has been taken off Nasa’s “risk list”.
Davide Farnocchia of Nasa’s center for near-Earth object studies said in a statement: “A 2068 impact is not in the realm of possibility any more, and our calculations don’t show any impact risk for at least the next 100 years.”
Scientists were able to refine Apophis’ orbit around the sun thanks to radar observations earlier this month when the asteroid passed within 17m km (10.6m miles).
Apophis belongs to a group known as the Aten family, which spends most of their time inside the orbit of the Earth, placing them between our planet and the sun.
“When I started working with asteroids after college, Apophis was the poster child for hazardous asteroids,” Mr Farnocchia said. “There’s a certain sense of satisfaction to see it removed from the risk list."
