Space junkies, pay attention! On Feb. 15, an asteroid called 2012 DA14 will pass alarmingly close to the earth. It'll be closer than the moon. In fact, it'll even be closer than the satellites that monitor our planet's weather.
It's still going to be more than 17,000 miles away, but that's considered a "shave" in space measurements.
"This is a record-setting close approach," said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near Earth Object Program to Fox News. "It will come interestingly close, closer than many man-made satellites."
Most of us probably won't even notice it, though, unless we're armed with a telescope or a sturdy set of binoculars. Obviously the asteroid isn't going to actually collide with the earth, otherwise we'd probably all be freaking out and looting stores by now, but it doesn't look like the casual observer will even be able to view the rock as it flies by.
"The asteroid will travel rapidly from the southern evening sky into the northern morning sky with its closest Earth approach occurring about 19:26 UTC when it will achieve a magnitude of less than seven, which is somewhat fainter than naked eye visibility," said Yeomans on NASA's web site. "About 4 minutes after its Earth close approach, there is a good chance it will pass into the Earth's shadow for about 18 minutes or so before reappearing from the eclipse. When traveling rapidly into the northern morning sky, 2012 DA14 will quickly fade in brightness."
So it's likely to be difficult to see, which could be explained by the fact that, compared to other asteroids, it isn't that large. Coming in at about 50 meters wide, or half the size of a football field, DA14 will pass through the orbit field that falls between earth and the International Space Station.
Even though the asteroid won't hit the earth, its close proximity to the planet has sparked other concerns, such as the possibility that tit might make impact with satellites. Yeomans says this isn't likely, either.
"The odds of impact with a satellite are extremely remote," he said. "Almost nothing orbits where DA14 passes the Earth."
According to Fox News, even if the space rock does hit earth, it wouldn't be particularly devastating except for those living in its immediate vicinity. An asteroid of similar size ended up making a mile wide crater in Arizona, affecting the surrounding 50 miles.
