A small asteroid will reportedly pass closer to Earth next week than any TV satellite that circles the planet currently according to Reuters.
NASA experts believe we're in no immediate danger as there is no chance of the asteroid crashing into Earth. The asteroid, known as 2012 DA14, was discovered by scientists last year in Spain and is approximately 150 feet in diameter according to Space.com.
"Although they wouldn't (cause) a global catastrophe if they impact the Earth, they still do a lot of regional destruction," said Lindley Johnson, who oversees the Near-Earth Object Observations Program at NASA headquarters in Washington DC.
In comparison, DA14 is the size of an Olympic swimming pool or half the size of a football field.
DA14 will pass by in the sky at approximately 8 miles per second. If an object of that size were to collide with Earth would be comparable to 2.4 million tons of dynamite exploding. The last known asteroid explosion took place in 1908 when a spacerock exploded over Siberia, destroying over 80 million trees according to Reuters.
NASA scientists have used advanced modeling techniques to map out the entire path of the asteroid with exact precision using the same ground-based telescopes they tracked the 2012 DA14 since last year.
The flyby will allow NASA scientists a chance to observe DA14 for the first time, and since it will be so close to earth, they may be able to learn more about space rocks and the solar system in general according to Space.com.
Click here to watch the flyby next week on Space.com.
The asteroid will reach as close as 17,100 miles from Earth on Feb. 15 and will be viewable in the night sky with the help of a pair of binoculars or a telescope.
"The flyby creates a unique opportunity for researchers to observe and learn more about asteroids," NASA officials said in a press statement this week.
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