It's an asteroid, it's called 2012 DA14, it was only discovered last
year, it is going to pass by Earth on Friday of next week (February 15)
and it is going to set a record for a close miss of a space object. This
monster is approaching at 4.8 miles per second. However, there is good
news. It isn't going to hit... so they say.
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Federal'noe Kosmicheskoe Agentsvo) confirms that the object will fly near the Earth on February 16 MSK time, between approximately twenty to twenty-five miles from our planet (nearest point 17,200 miles). This is lower than some geostationary satellites and even closer than the upcoming near-impact with the Doomsday Asteroid, Apophis, scheduled for 2029.
The Russian Federal Space Agency (Federal'noe Kosmicheskoe Agentsvo) confirms that the object will fly near the Earth on February 16 MSK time, between approximately twenty to twenty-five miles from our planet (nearest point 17,200 miles). This is lower than some geostationary satellites and even closer than the upcoming near-impact with the Doomsday Asteroid, Apophis, scheduled for 2029.