February 16 asteroid sets record-breaking fly-by

An asteroid about half the size of a football field will blow past Earth on Feb. 16 closer than many manmade satellites. NASA said that while the asteroid, designated 2012 DA14, has no chance of striking Earth, since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet. “This is a record-setting close approach,” said Don Yeomans of NASA’s Near Earth Object Program at JPL. The asteroid is about 148 meters in diameter and is on a close encounter course with the planet. It will come closest at around 10.25 a.m. (local time) on Feb. 16. The asteroid will not be visible through the naked eye, but as Feb. 15 draws closer, it can be viewed through a medium size telescope. At the point of closest approach, its distance will be about 34,100 km from the center of the Earth. “Given the radius of the Earth, it will be about 28,000 km from its surface, a small distance in terms of astronomical figures,” said Debiprosad Duari, an Indian astronomer. The 130,000 metric ton massive rock will undergo a change in its period due to the close encounter with the Earth, and the approach will reduce the orbital period of the asteroid from 366 days to 317 days. From Arabnews