Written by Dr. Tony Phillips
Science at NASA
Washington, D.C. – NASA Television will provide commentary starting at 2:00pm EST (1:00pm CST) on Friday, February 15th, during the close, but safe, flyby of a small near-Earth asteroid named “2012 DA14.”
NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. This flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwidzVHvbGI[/youtube]
At the time of its closest approach to Earth at approximately 2:25pm EST (1:25pm CST/ 19:25 UTC), the asteroid will be about 17,150 miles (27,600 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. Measuring approximately 50 meters wide, 2012 DA14 is about half the size of a football field.
Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object this big come so close to our planet. The asteroid will actually pass closer to Earth than many man made satellites.
The commentary will be available via NASA TV and streamed live online at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv and http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
In addition to the commentary, near real-time imagery of the asteroid’s flyby before and after closest approach, made available to NASA by astronomers in Australia and Europe, weather permitting, will be streamed beginning at about noon EST (11:00am CST) and continuing through the afternoon at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
Also, a Ustream feed of the flyby from a telescope at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL, will be streamed for three hours starting at 9:00pm EST (8:00pm CST). To view the feed and ask researchers questions about the flyby via Twitter, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
For more information, including graphics and animations showing the flyby of 2012 DA14, visit www.nasa.gov/asteroidflyby
