Asteroid 2012 DA 14 is making record break Close encounter with Earth !

Asteroid DA14 is making flyby to earth on 15

th
February 2013. It will be approaching
27700 km to Earth, which means it will pass below Geo synchronous Satellite
making it a record of close fly by for any asteroid of this size.
To make understanding of this event easier, I have attached many images
downloaded from internet. Lets get into some more details.
A comet is a relatively small solar system body that orbits the Sun. When close
enough to the Sun they display a visible coma (a fuzzy outline or atmosphere due to
solar radiation) and sometimes a tail. Asteroids are small solar system bodies that
orbit the Sun. Made of rock and metal, they can also contain organic compounds.
Asteroids are similar to comets but do not have a visible coma (fuzzy outline and tail)
like comets do. A meteoroid is a small rock or particle of debris in our solar system.
They range in size from dust to around 10 meters in diameter (larger objects are
usually referred to as asteroids). A meteoroid that burns up as it passes through the
Earths atmosphere is known as a meteor. If youve ever looked up at the sky at night
and seen a streak of light or shooting star what you are actually seeing is a meteor.
A meteoroid that survives falling through the Earths atmosphere and colliding with
the Earths surface is known as a meteorite. Similarly, Geostationary Earth Orbit, is a
circular orbit 35786 Kms above the Earth's equator. Communications satellites and
weather satellites are often given geostationary orbits, so that the satellite
antennas that communicate with them do not have to move to track them, but can be
pointed permanently at the position in the sky where they stay.
Asteroid 2012 DA 14 is roughly half a football field wide, approximately 45 meter
(150 feet) wide Asteroid. Weight is approximately 130000000 Kgs. It will pass at
some 8000 km (5000 miles) inside the ring of geosynchronous satellites, but far
above most Earth orbiting satellites, including the 6 person crew currently working
aboard the International Space Station which is approx. 400 kms).
Astronomers at the La Sagra Sky Survey program in southern Spain discovered the
asteroid in February 2012. This time asteroid will be observable in the dark sky in
Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia, achieving about 7.5 magnitude, somewhat
fainter than naked eye visibility. Closest approach will be over Indonesia. The travel
path map is attached. Skillful and knowledgeable enthusiast can try to see asteroid
hurtling with binoculars or a small telescope.
The close fly by will be on 15
th
February 2013 at about 19.24 UTC that means
00.54 am of 16
th
Feb 2013 for India, due to time scale conversion (time map is
attached). The speed of object will be about 7.8 kilometers per second. It will be
traveling rapidly from South to North and will be moving at about two full moons per
minute. No known asteroid of this size has ever passed so near to Earth. Such close
flybys happen every 40 years on average. An actual Earth collision would happen
about every 1200 years. Small space rocks hit Earth on a daily basis amounting to
about 100 tons. Car sized rocks hit weekly.
In future also Apophis, approximately 325 meter diameter asteroid may have close
encounter with earth during Year 2029 or 2036. Its named after ancient Egyptian
spirit of evil and destruction, a demon that was determined to plunge the world into
eternal darkness. If it hits earth energy that would be equivalent of 500 to 1000
megatons of TNT.
If an asteroid the size of 2012 DA14 fell to Earth, the impact effect would be similar to
the 1908 Tunguska event in Siberia. That was an air blast event that leveled trees
over an area greater than about 800 square miles. But the local effect on human
cities for example of a 50 meter wide asteroid impact would be deadly and utterly
devastating. But it would not be catastrophic to all life on Earth. Nevertheless, at this
moment, Earth has no defenses against asteroids other than talk. The mass
extinction of the dinosaurs some 65 million years ago was caused by an asteroid
about 10 km in diameter. About 2/3 of all species went extinct.
If 2012 DA14 impacted Earth the force would be equivalent to about 2.4 megatons of
energy (2.4 million tons of TNT),
But nothing will happen when 2012 DA14 Asteroid passes us. Most of us wont see it
or be aware of its passage, in any way. The asteroid wont alter the tides. It wont
cause volcanoes. Itll just sweep closely past us, as millions of asteroids have done
throughout Earths 4.5 Billion year history.
(All details here & images are from internet & NASA website. These
details are compiled with only intent of making it reach maximum number
of people & No financial gain has been made in any form)
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lao K 7 (Date : 15-02-2013) (News Paper : RamPrahar)
ASanaI yaot Aaho pRqvaI BaoTIlaa
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Regards.
Santosh Takale,
Scientific Officer, BARC
Ph - 0-9967584554.
santoshatbarc@gmail.com
Pr i nt onl y i f essent i al .......SAVE TREES
" Go GREEN, Save Earth "