Neil deGrasse Tyson's terrifying prediction of when an asteroid could hit Earth is imminent

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson once made a frightening prediction about when an asteroid might hit Earth.

In a 2007 interview with Conan O'Brien, Tyson spoke about the threat posed by an asteroid called Apophis.

Asteroids – sometimes called “minor planets” – are rocky remnants from the formation of the solar system.

When asked about the discovery of Apophis three years earlier, Tyson explained what might happen if it ever hit Earth.

“If the volcano hits and hits exactly where we think it will, it will collapse into the Pacific Ocean, leaving a hole five kilometers wide and five kilometers deep,” he said.

“At this point, a surge of water flows toward the coast of North America and then splashes back again.

“You get these pulses, every pulse that hits the coast, hits these million-dollar homes in Malibu, takes them to the sea, washes them back, and they're not the same shape they used to be.

“The probability of it hitting is one in 45,000. We have top people working on this problem.”

Tyson stated that the impact would occur on April 13, 2036. However, in a later interview, Tyson said that there would also be a “close approach” in 2029.

The astrophysicist explained that the catastrophe would not necessarily claim millions of lives because we would notice the asteroid's approach in time.

The asteroid mentioned by Tyson, named Apophis, was discovered on June 19, 2004 by astronomers Roy Tucker, David Tholen and Fabrizio Bernardi at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

According to NASA, scientists have been tracking the asteroid since its discovery to understand its trajectory.

“NASA has diverted a spacecraft to study the asteroid,” they explain. “The spacecraft was sent to study Apophis during the asteroid's flyby of Earth in 2029.”

“OSIRIS-APEX will flyby Apophis on April 23, 2029, at a distance of approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

It is expected to fly close to Earth in 2029 (Getty Stock Photo)

“It will then rendezvous with Apophis in June for an 18-month campaign to map the asteroid's surface and analyze its chemical composition.”

During the survey, the spacecraft will take images of the asteroid, while ground-based telescopes will also closely monitor its movements.

“In the hours following the close encounter, Apophis will appear too close to the Sun in the sky to be observed by ground-based optical telescopes,” NASA explains. “This means that any changes caused by the close encounter with Earth will be best detected by the spacecraft.”

“Apophis is about 340 meters wide. It is expected to pass safely close to Earth on April 13, 2029 – at a distance of 31,860 kilometers from the surface of our planet. This will be the closest approach of an asteroid of this size to Earth that scientists knew about in advance.”

NASA stated that the risk of the satellite hitting our planet in 2029 and 2036 had been ruled out. However, after a recent “revision” of their data, they found that there could be only a very small chance of a collision in any given event.