2012 DA14 is a near earth asteroid with an estimated diameter of about 44 meters and an estimated mass of about 120,000 metric tons.[1] It was discovered on February 23, 2012, by the OAM Observatory, La Sagra in Spain (J75).[2] Calculations show that on February 15, 2013, the distance between the asteroid and the Earth will be 0.07 LD (27,000 km; 17,000 mi).[3]
Risks
- The asteroid will not impact the Earth on February 15, 2013.[4]
- There is estimated to be a cumulative 0.021% chance (1 in 4,760) of 2012 DA14 impacting Earth sometime between 2020 and 2057.[1] (As of March 6, 2012, the odds of impact on 2020-Feb-16 are 1 in 83,000.)[1]
- It is rated a low −3.29 on the Palermo Scale.[5] (The risk is less than one thousandth of the estimated risk of another similarly sized near earth asteroid hitting the Earth during that time period.[6] It is estimated that there are more than a million near-Earth asteroids smaller than 100 meters.)[7]
- It rates 0 (No Hazard) on the Torino scale.[1]
If it were to strike the Earth, it is estimated that it would be of a similar scale as the Tunguska impact.[1]
On February 15, 2013, DA14 will pass no closer than 0.000181 AU (27,100 km; 16,800 mi) from the center-point of the Earth,[8] which is no closer to the Earth's surface than 3.2 Earth radii.[4] This is closer than satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The asteroid will not be visible to the naked eye.[4] Due to the uncertainty in the short observation arc of 12 days, there is also a small possibility that the asteroid will pass 0.0014 AU (210,000 km; 130,000 mi) from the Earth on February 15, 2013.[8]
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