Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Other

Asteroid ‘2012 DA14’ set for closest flyby in modern history

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
February 5, 2013
in Other, Space

That’s what NASA officials have been telling the press recently, at least. If you haven’t heard yet, a football field-sized asteroid called 2012 DA14 is expected to come buzzing past Earth later this month, making it, in NASA’s own words, a ‘record-setter’ in terms of asteroid proximity.

2012-DA14-asteroid The asteroid will pass so closely by Earth that it will not only fit through the gap between the Moon and Earth, but actually fly by next to current satellites orbiting our planet. More exactly, astronomers believe the asteroid, which was discovered just last year, will come within 17,200 miles of the planet when it makes its cosmic fly by.

Now, I like records. I think every milestone is a reason to celebrate; it symbolizes a breakthrough, evolution, you name it, but 2012 DA14 isn’t exactly what I had in mind. It’s scary.

“This is a record-setting close approach,” Don Yeomans, the head of NASA’s asteroid-tracking program, said in a statement.
“Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, we’ve never seen an object this big get so close to Earth.”

Hit or miss?

I can tell you’re getting anxious. Good news is that, according to NASA officials at least, that there’s absolutely no chance whatsoever that 2012 DA14 will impact Earth, like my colleague Andrei reported earlier last week. Still, if it would have, its composition and size (some 150 feet and 143,000 tonnes) wouldn’t cause incommensurable amounts of damage. Apparently, though it’s so close to the geosynchronous orbit satellites typically fly on, there are little to any chances the asteroid will impact a satellite.

“2012 DA14 will definitely not hit Earth. The orbit of the asteroid is known well enough to rule out an impact,” said Yeomans, who heads the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. The odds that the asteroid could slam into a satellite are also “extremely remote,” he added.

Ok, now the bad news. The asteroid is set to return on yet another close encounter with our planet seven years from now. So far scientists are rather confident that Earth’s gravity won’t affect 2012 DA14’s trajectory, but nothing is certain for sure.

Earth comes into “close” contact with such asteroids about every 50 years, and is only hit by them every 1,200 years, Yeomans estimated. Oddly enough, in 1908 an asteroid of similar size exploded in the atmosphere above Siberia leveling hundreds of square miles in what scientists refer to as the “Tunguska Event.”

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Asteroid 2012 DA14 close flyby today, meanwhile unrelated meteorite blazes over Russia
  2. Videos of asteroid 2012 DA14 making its flyby past Earth
  3. NASA radar observation shows asteroid 2012 DA14 flyby [VIDEO]
  4. Radar images of an asteroid during its closest flyby
  5. NASA’s Juno to make closest flyby to Jupiter’s largest moon
Tags: asteroid

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW