NASA has an important update about a skyscraper-sized asteroid headed toward Earth

If you keep up with space and science news — or, more specifically, news related to asteroids and other threats from space — you've probably heard the name Apophis before. In fact, the name alone may be enough to send a chill down your spine, and with very good reason. The space rock known as 99942 Apophis has repeatedly popped up in news articles since its discovery in 2004. The asteroid is one of the more credible threats to Earth and, as scientists continued to study its path through space, they couldn't rule out a collision with Earth in the years to come.

Eventually, astronomers were able to say with certainty that the rock wouldn't hit us in 2029 during its next particularly close pass. A strike in the year 2036 was also eventually ruled out, but the year 2068 still held the possibility of a collision between our planet and the beefy space rock. Now, thanks to additional observations of the asteroid from earlier this month, scientists have also ruled out the would-be collision in 2068, paving the way for a quiet 100+ years.