UPI en Español  |   UPI Asia  |   About UPI  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Asteroid DA14 February 15th flyby Fear vs. Fact [VIDEO]

NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office manager, Don Yeomans spoke to SPACE.com about Asteroid DA14, the space rock that will come between us and the moon on February 15.
|
 
CREDIT: <a class="tpstyle" href="http://www.space.com/19540-asteroid-2012-da14-earth-flyby.html" target="_blank">Space.com</a>
CREDIT: Space.com
Updated Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:57 PM
Published: Feb. 5, 2013 at 12:25 PM

NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office manager Don Yeomans spoke to SPACE.com about Asteroid DA14, the small space rock that will come between us and the moon on Feb. 15th, 2013.

Though the asteroid will pass within 17,200 miles of our planet, scientists at NASA have ruled out any potential danger associated with the flyby. In fact, they believe the event will be a once in a lifetime experience that will allow for the study of near-earth objects up close.

"The flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close," NASA said in a statement.

According to Yeomans, DA14's close approach to the geosynchronous satellites orbiting at 22,245 miles above Earth, is nothing to worry about.

"The orbit of the asteroid is known well enough to rule out an impact," he said.

NASA scientists will be tracking the space rock from Feb. 16 to Feb. 20 with their Goldstone radar from California's Mojave Desert.

Recommended Stories
© 2013 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
'Star Trek Into Darkness' screening NBC upfronts Met Ball 2013
'Great Gatsby' premieres in New York Spire raised on top of One WTC 2013: Celebrity break ups and divorces
1 of 18
Greek PM Antonis vists Beijing
View Caption
Greek national flags fly over Tiananmen Square during Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras state visit to Beijing on May 16, 2013. Samaras is in China seeking investment and trade deals to help revive his country's recession-battered economy. UPI/Stephen Shaver
fark
Bar will host "Smallest Penis Contest" ... and since it will be held in New York, competition is...
Woman walking near the Arrivals section of the Fort Lauderdale Airport unexpectedly departs by bus...
Photoshop this banged up big ball
Saint Louis Fark Party, June 1 - Get drunk and climb on stuff, two week countdown
"Oops The 5 greatest scientific blunders." From someone who apparently doesn't understand how science...
Thief and suspected foodie turns himself in. Reason: "I want to eat the tasty food Nagata Precinct...