| archmage | Date: Saturday, 09-February-2013, 3:11 AM | Message # 1 |
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-- dragon lord--
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| Asteroid will come closer than satellites – but it's not the end of the world.
Lump of rock 50 metres long will soar through sky at about 8 miles a second.
Anyone happening to glance towards the heavens in a week's time and glimpses a 50-metre-long lump of rock hurtling ominously through the skies need not panic.
Although it will pass closer to us than any asteroid has for the past 15 years – closer even than the TV satellites that girdle the planet – Nasa insists that 2012 DA14 will miss Earth by a good 17,100 miles (27,520km).
"No Earth impact is possible," said Donald Yeomans, an astronomer with the US space agency.
He also pointed out that the planet was bombarded by about 100 tonnes of space material every day.
Yeomans added that asteroids as big as DA14, which is abou t 46 metres wide, are estimated to strike Earth about every 1,200 years.
The asteroid's closest approach will be at 7.24pm on 15 February, meaning that those gazing keenly at the dark skies of eastern Europe, Asia and Australia will stand the best chance of seeing it through telescopes or binoculars.
Read more/Full article/source -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science....ys-nasa
Message edited by archmage - Saturday, 09-February-2013, 3:13 AM |
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