On 2.15.13, an asteroid the size of an office building will pass very close to the Earth. It’s a close encounter of a kind that happens only rarely:
It will be the nearest recorded brush with a space rock so large, NASA scientists said Thursday.
(The Washington Post/NASA) – A chunk of rock about half the length of a football field — travelling at almost 5 miles per second — will pass about 17,200 miles from Earth on Friday.
The good news: There’s no chance of an impact. At its closest, asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass about 17,000 miles above Earth.
The bad news: A million other potentially dangerous — and unknown — city-killing space rocks are out there, and one of them could be on a collision course with Earth. Critics say NASA and other space agencies are not doing enough to scan for these threats.
“It’s like Mother Nature sending a warning shot across our bow,” said Don Yeomans, who tracks asteroids for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
So, Asteroids: Big Problem or Not Worth Worrying Over?
I’m in the Not Worth Worrying Over category, as I think we’ve the time and will develop the technology to manage these risks.
What do you think?