The asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass c so skimming the Earth on February 15 , so close that it will cross the ring of communications and meteorological satellites. However, NASA has ruled out any risk of a collision with our planet.
According to the space agency, DA14 measures about 45 meters in diameter, its mass is 130,000 metric tons and it travels at a speed of around 28,100 kilometers per hour. Its closest approach to our planet is scheduled for 8:24 p.m., at which time the rock will pass 27,700 kilometers – one tenth of the separation between the Earth and the Moon – above the Earth’s surface, flying over the Indian Ocean, near Sumatra.
It is the closest asteroid flight to Earth that has been recorded in decades and the next one will not take place until February 2046, when 2012 DA14 goes to just over 9,900 kilometers. It will also be one of the ones that spends the most time within the Earth-Moon system, since it will remain between both bodies for around 33 hours.
2012 DA14 was discovered at the La Sagra Observatory operated by the Mallorca Astronomical Observatory, on February 23, 2012 , and was more than four million kilometers away when it was detected. From that moment, its trajectory and the possibility of its approaching the planet began to be studied.
Probability of collision?
NASA experts estimate that there are about 500,000 asteroids the size of 2012 DA14 near Earth. The probability that one of them will hit the Earth is approximately once every 1,200 years.
To be able to contemplate this phenomenon from Earth, NASA has explained that the magnitude of the asteroid does not allow it to be observed with the naked eye, although it is enough to use binoculars or an amateur telescope to see it from Europe, Africa and Asia. Its trajectory will be from south to north.
Finally, the US space agency has highlighted the “great opportunity” that it represents for science . This step will be observed by numerous optical observatories around the world to try to determine its rotation speed and composition.
