An asteroid, which is the size of half a football field, is due to pass closer to earth than many of the man-made satellites do while in orbit. This space rock will pass between the moon and earth, according to “Fox and Friends” live on Thursday. This will be a close-call, closer than ever before. This is one meteor event that NASA and most notable astronomers are tracking today, reports the Science Recorder Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013.
The asteroid will make a “record-setting close approach" to the earth on Feb. 15, 2013, reports NASA. Since regular sky surveys began in the 90s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to the earth. The asteroid is expected to offer a historic event for stargazers.
Don Yeoman of the Near Earth Object Program at NASA said the meteor measures some 50 meters wide. It is most likely made of stone "as opposed to metal and ice," reports Yeoman. While an asteroid this size passes by the earth every 40 years or so, it only hit’s the earth’s surface once every 1,200 years. NASA reports that the impact of a meteor this big “is not cataclysmic, unless you happen to be underneath it,” According to Network World.
According to the Science Recorder today, the Asteroid 2012 DA14 will break records when it passes near the earth. This meteor is considered “a near miss.” An object this size has never been recorded coming so close to earth before, as it is expected to pass a distance of 17,000 miles.
Astronomers say there’s no chance that the asteroid will collide with earth, but if it did it would produce an impact comparable to 2.4 megatons of TNT exploding. This is enough to flatten a city, according to the Science Recorder. The moon is a distance of 238,857 miles away from the earth, according to The Universe Today. This asteroid will pass by the earth at half that distance, making it a very close call.
Comments