Asteroid To Narrowly Miss Earth Next week

Next Friday afternoon an asteroid will narrowly miss the Earth. Experts from NASA have plotted the trajectory and say the asteroid will pass about 17,200 miles away. The primordial rock, known officially as 2012 DA14, weighs about 130,000 metric tons and is about 150 feet across. This is the closest know approach of a dangerous cosmic object since NASA started tracking such things. The asteroid will pass over the eastern Indian Ocean around 12:24pm mountain time and will be traveling eight times as fast as a bullet from a high-powered rifle. If we where in Eastern Europe, Australia or Asia we could see 2012 DA14 with a good pair of binoculars or a moderately powered telescope. Unfortunately here in Colorado we will not be able to see the asteroid pass so I guess we’ll have to wait for the movie.