'Near' miss for Earth but you needn't worry

TNN | Feb 4, 2013, 02.58 AM IST

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KOLKATA: A fortnight from now, the Earth will have a close shave as an asteroid comes within 28,000 km of its surface - a very short distance when one considers the vastness of the universe and space. The 'narrow escape' is expected to occur around 12.55am on February 16.

The asteroid that will give astronomers a sleepless night is 2012 DA14. It was discovered from an observatory in Spain on February 23, 2012. A week later, it passed close to Earth at a distance of 1.6 million km. The orbital period of the asteroid was 366 days, and that is the reason, exactly after one year, on February 15 this year, it is coming close to Earth - much closer than the previous years.

This 1,30,000 metric tonne massive rock - about 148 feet in diameter - will undergo a change in its period due to the close encounter with the Earth this time. The approach will reduce the orbital period of the asteroid from 366 days to 317 days. Calculations by astronomers have shown that there is no possibility of this asteroid actually hitting the Earth, but it will come closer to the planet than even some of the geosynchronous orbits of certain man-made satellites.

In general, the geostationary satellites are orbiting at a distance of 95 km from each other. So, there is not much of a chance that this asteroid may hit one of them. The next close approach will be on February 16, 2046, when it will pass no closer than 60,000 km from the centre of the Earth. The asteroid will not be visible through the naked eye, but as February 15 comes closer, it can be viewed through a medium size telescope.

The Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex in California will keep a constant watch on the asteroid from February 16 through February 20, trying to get more information about its orbit. If it were to hit Earth, it is estimated that it would have produced an explosion equivalent of 2.5 megatons of TNT. Asteroids about 150 feet in diameter are expected to hit the Earth once every 1,200 years.

"No one should be afraid of this close encounter since there is no possibility that 2012 DA14 is going to collide with the Earth. But these events remind us from time to time about our position and environment in space, the solar system, and objects associated with it, which can be considered our neighbours," said MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research director (research and academic) Debiprosad Duari.

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