Russian scientist Vadim Simonenko and his colleagues concluded that the best way to o deflect an asteroid up to 1.5 kilometers (one mile) or so wide would be to explode a nuclear bomb nearby. The explosion would destroy smaller rocks. For larger ones, the explosion would burn a layer of rock off the asteroid's 45 surface. The expanding gas would act as a rocket motor, pushing the asteroid onto a new course. Apophis may pose a great challenge for world leaders. As it swings past Earth in 2029, there's 50 a slim chance that Earth's gravity will deflect the asteroid just enough to put it on a certain collision course with our planet on the next pass, in 2036. The odds are currently estimated at one in 45,000, so a strike is very unlikely. 5 Meanwhile, astronomers will continue to track Apophis to learn if it will merely taunt us again, or actually strike.