Americas

Earth set for asteroid close call

The 130,000-tonne DA-14 is to make the closest flyby ever predicted for a body of its size, scientists say.
Last Modified: 15 Feb 2013 09:02

NASA is keeping a close eye on a sizeable asteroid that is set to miss the Earth by a relatively small distance.

In fact, the 150ft wide, 130,000-tonne rock is due to make the the closest flyby ever predicted for such a large object.

Dubbed 2012 DA 14, it is expected to pass about 27,000km above the Earth at the time of closest approach, at about 19:25 GMT, NASA said.

"This distance is well away from Earth and the swarm of low Earth-orbiting satellites, including the International Space Station," it said in a statement on its website.

Still, "the flyby of 2012 DA-14 is the closest-ever predicted approach to Earth for an object this large".

Al Jazeera's Tarek Bazley explains.

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Source:
Al Jazeera
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