NASA: Asteroid to Pass Close to Earth Feb. 15, Won’t Hit Us

by Nate Wooley | February 5, 2013 12:31 pm

[1]The asteroid labeled “2012 DA14” will come close to the Earth but won’t hit it.

Scientists at NASA report that the asteroid – which is 150 feet across – will pass within 18,000 miles of Earth, The Los Angeles Times reports[2]. The asteroid will pass closest to Earth on Feb. 15th but have no chance to hit us, the experts insist.

Specifically, it will hit perigee – closest approach – at 11:24 a.m. pacific standard time on the 15th. At that point it will be 17,200 miles from the surface and 5,000 miles inside the orbits for our Global Positioning System satellites. It will still be thousands of miles above the atmosphere and the International Space Station, which orbits at about 240 miles above the surface.

The orbital region it will pass through has very few objects, man-made or otherwise. Scientists say that means there’s very little chance that 2012 DA14 will hit anything at all on its way past.

More stories about space:

• NASA Working With Company on Inflatable Space Homes[3]
• Need a Shuttle Launch Pad? NASA is Selling[4]
• NASA Gives $30M More for Space Taxi Certification[5]

Source URL: http://investorplace.com/2013/02/nasa-asteroid-to-pass-close-to-earth-feb-15-wont-hit-us/
Short URL: http://investorplace.com/?p=302500

---