On 15th feb, an asteroid half the length of a football field is going to fly right by Earth.
NASA has been keeping track of asteroid 2012 DA14, and the asteroid is projected to pass close enough.Although it is calculated that there is no threat to humanity’s survival, the asteroid flyby will provide an inimitable opportunity to observe such a rare phenomenon.
“That it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites,” reported NASA. NASA has already formulated the trajectory of the asteroid using its Cutting-edge technology, which can be seen in the Trajectory Video.
The asteroid will pass between Earth and the moon’s orbit, flying even lower than the rings of geosynchronous satellites in Earth’s orbit. The asteroid will be as close as 17,200 miles from Earth. The asteroid will receive such close proximity only after 30 years.
The asteroid is about 150 feet in diameter and will be at its closest point near Earth around 2:24 p.m. EST Feb.15. The asteroid will hover around for roughly 33 hours around Earth and the moon, weighs 130,000 metric i.e. 12 times the weight of Eiffel tower tons and will be traveling at 28083 kilometers per hour. This ground-breaking phenomenon will closely watched by the space agencies all around the world.NASA said:
“The 2013 flyby is by far the closest the asteroid will approach our planet for many decades,The next notable close approach to Earth will be on Feb. 16, 2046, when the asteroid will pass no closer than 620,000 miles from the center-point of Earth.”
[source: live science,nasa]
