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One of the closest NEO approaches ever - Feb 15th/16th

  • 18-01-2013 9:28am
    #1
    Seanie M
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,795 ✭✭✭


    On the night of February 15th we will have a very near miss from an NEO (Near Earth Asteroid). It is going to pass so close to us that it will pass inside the orbits of our own geostationary satellites.

    Named as Asteroid 2012 DA14, it is c. 50 meters in diameter. It is due to pass around 21,000 miles from the centre of the Earth, or about 17,000 miles above the surface. Experts are sure that there is no risk of a collision, but if an object of this size did hit Earth, you could only imagine what the damage would be like - think about the 'small' objects that hit before the big one in the movie Deep Impact. Asteroid 2012 DA14's speed will be 7.8km/sec.

    17,000 miles may not seem like much when you take in the scales of everything else in the Solar System, but think of it this way (as Terry Mosely put it recently): It’s just over twice the diameter of the Earth. If a bullet was to miss your head by just twice your head's diameter, you would think that you had been very very lucky!

    A magnitude 7 to 7.5, it will easily be seen in binoculars. More info later on exactly where it will be seen from in the sky and its path against the stars.

    Not time yet to stock up on the tinned goods anyway!

    Seanie.


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