DA 14 Asteroid Passing Within 17,000 Miles of Earth This Friday

This Friday, an asteroid known as DA 14, will pass very close to Earth, it’s expected to be within the orbit of the moon or 17,200 miles from earth. The moon is roughly 238,000 miles from Earth making DA 14’s is the closest passing of an asteroid ever recorded.  Astronomers are quite certain it will not hit Earth in 2013 and it is expected to make a return trip in 2020, and the possibility of a strike then has been ruled out. We are all hoping to get a glimpse of the asteroid but even though it’s passing so close, it won’t be visible to the naked eye. The best way to see it is to watch it online, in real-time.

Earthsky.org