\'Atomic bomb\' asteroid to miss Earth again

Luckily, the asteroid is just doing a fly-by this time An asteroid with the destructive power of an H-bomb is scheduled to sweep past the Earth at a distance closer than commercial satellites.Asteroid 2012 DA14 circles the Earth once a year - and when it flies by next February, it will be just 24,000km away.
Luckily, it is not going to hit us this time round - but be warned that this is just one of just 500,000 rocks circling in a close orbit.
Scientists say there is no chance of an impact in 2013, but such a possibility cannot be ruled out during the asteroid\'s yearly approach .
If it did enter the Earth\'s atmosphere and explode, the force would be enough to destroy an area the size of Greater London.
The asteroid was spotted last month by a team operating from the La Sagra Sky Survey observatory near Granada in Spain. The observatory uses automated telescopes to track small asteroids and comets.
2012 DA14 was discovered after the astronomers decided to search areas of the sky where asteroids are not usually seen.
Dr Gerhard Drolshagen, a near-Earth object observer from the European Space Agency\'s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) office, said: \'The object is roughly 50 metres across and at that size it could do some damage if it exploded over an inhabited area. It would have the force of the biggest nuclear weapon.\'
In 1908 an asteroid estimated to be 40 metres across exploded over Tunguska in Siberia, flattening 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
\'That is an area the size of Greater London,\' said Dr Drolshagen. \'This asteroid is a little bigger.\'
The asteroid is expected to make its closest approach shortly after 6pm, UK time on February 15.
\'Next year it will be nice to watch through a pair of binoculars, but there is nothing to worry about,\' said Dr Drolshagen. \'In future times the possibility of a collision cannot be completely excluded. It is highly unlikely, but the chance is greater than zero.\'
An estimated 500,000 near-Earth objects measuring up to 30 metres are believed to be undiscovered.
Dr Detlef Koschny, also from the SSA, said: \'We are developing a system of automated optical telescopes that can detect asteroids just like this one, with the goal of being able to spot them at least three weeks before closest approach to Earth.\'