Asteroid Heading Towards Earth, but
Don't Worry About an Interception
From: Roger Greenway, ENN.com
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| From Bad Astronomy. Click here to read more. |
While we’re busy dealing
with the aftermath of Winter Storm Nemo, an asteroid is heading toward Earth
for a very close encounter on Friday, February 15th.
The small near-Earth
asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and
communications satellites that orbit Earth. NASA's Near-Earth Object Program
Office can accurately predict the asteroid's path with the observations
obtained, and it is therefore known that there is no chance that the asteroid
might be on a collision course with Earth.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 will
be closest to Earth on Feb. 15, at about 11:24 p.m. PST (2 p.m. EST and 1924
UT), when it will be at a distance of about 27,700 kilometers (17,200 miles)
above Earth's surface. Although this is close enough for the asteroid to pass
inside the ring of geosynchronous satellites, located about 35,800 kilometers
(22,200 miles) above the equator, it will still be well above the vast majority
of satellites, including the International Space Station.
At its closest, the
asteroid will be only about 1/13th of the distance to the moon. The asteroid
will fly by our planet quite rapidly, at a speed of about 17,400 mph (7.8
kilometers per second) in a south-to-north direction with respect to Earth.
Even though 2012 DA14 is
coming remarkably close, it will still only appear as a point of light in the
biggest of optical telescopes, because of its small size. Based on its
brightness, astronomers estimate that it is only about 45 meters (150 feet)
across. It will brighten only to magnitude 7.5, too faint to be seen with the
naked eye, but easily visible with a good set of binoculars or a small
telescope.
The best viewing
location for the closest approach will be Indonesia, from which the asteroid
will be seen to move at a rate of almost 1 degree per minute against the star
background. Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia are also well situated to see
the asteroid around its closest approach. But by the time Earth rotates enough
for observers in the continental United States to have a chance to see the
asteroid, it will have receded and faded to about the 11th magnitude.
Radar astronomers plan
to take images of the asteroid about eight hours after closest approach using
the Goldstone antenna in California's Mojave Desert, which is part of NASA's
Deep Space Network.
Read more at NASA.