Very near earth asteroid day approacheth!
Tomorrow is flyby day for that space rock I mentioned a few months back, the one that will be diving inside geostationary orbit -- at about 19:25 UT / 14:25 EST / 11:25 PST, JPL data show -- swooping by at about 9% of the distance between Earth and its Moon.
So, how close *is* that? Weather.com has a good discussion of the scale of the asteroid and the nearness and speed of its closest approach.
Space billiards remain unlikely: Geosynch is a big shell, and mostly empty. It also is far enough out that, yes, astronomers are quite sure this asteroid will NOT hit the Earth. And that's a very good thing as, at an estimated 50 to 65 m in diameter, 2012 DA14 is about the same size as the rocks "responsible for the Meteor Crater in Arizona and the Tunguska Event in Siberia," says SpaceWeather.com.
This rock is very fast and fairly dim, so not a great candidate for home viewing, even if you have a telescope. So if you want to see the big event, check out NASA TV tomorrow at 2 pm EST (yes, 14:00); live video from Australian and European observatories is due to begin a couple hours earlier.
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comments. Comment where ye will.
So, how close *is* that? Weather.com has a good discussion of the scale of the asteroid and the nearness and speed of its closest approach.
Space billiards remain unlikely: Geosynch is a big shell, and mostly empty. It also is far enough out that, yes, astronomers are quite sure this asteroid will NOT hit the Earth. And that's a very good thing as, at an estimated 50 to 65 m in diameter, 2012 DA14 is about the same size as the rocks "responsible for the Meteor Crater in Arizona and the Tunguska Event in Siberia," says SpaceWeather.com.
This rock is very fast and fairly dim, so not a great candidate for home viewing, even if you have a telescope. So if you want to see the big event, check out NASA TV tomorrow at 2 pm EST (yes, 14:00); live video from Australian and European observatories is due to begin a couple hours earlier.
This entry is cross-posted from www.dreamwidth.org, where there are
comments. Comment where ye will.