Space and NASA News
An Asteroid Half the Size of a Football Field Will Buzz Close by Earth on Friday
Tariq Malik, Space.com — An asteroid half the size of a football field will buzz close by Earth on Friday, coming closer than many weather satellites, but there is absolutely no chance the space rock will hit the planet, NASA says.The asteroid 2012 DA14 will approach within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth when it zips by the planet on Friday (Feb. 15). It will be 5,000 miles closer than the ring of weather, communications and GPS navigation satellites that orbit the Earth, but it poses no impact threat, NASA scientists assured.
According to detailed observations of the 150-foot (45 meters) 2012 DA14 since its discovery last year, "there is no chance that the asteroid might be on a collision course with Earth," NASA officials said in a statement.
But the space rock encounter will mark the closest-ever known Earth flyby of an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14, with NASA scientists and astronomers around the world preparing to take advantage of the event to take a close look at how asteroids work. » Read More
» Space.com
About the Author
Tariq joined TechMediaNetwork's SPACE.com team in 2001 as a staff writer, and later editor, covering human spaceflight, exploration and space science. He became SPACE.com's Managing Editor in 2009. Before joining SPACE.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. ~ Revelation 8:10,11