Scientists are predicting that the asteroid 2012 DA14 has a good chance of colliding with earth in eleven months. Watch the skies in February 2013! According to RT, NASA has confirmed that the 60 meter (or 197 feet) asteroid, which was spotted by Spanish stargazers in February this year, has a good chance of colliding with earth. The scientists suggest confronting this asteroid with either big guns or, more strangely, with paint.
The problem with either option is that there is no time to build a spaceship for the operation. A spaceship could either shoot the asteroid down or simply crash into it – this would either break it into pieces or throw it off course. NASA expert David Dunham suggested: “We could paint it.” The paint would change the asteroid’s ability to reflect sunlight, alter its spin and change its temperature. However, even taking the asteroid off course could be dangerous when it returns in 2056, according to Aleksandr Devaytkin the head of the observatory in Russia’s Pulkovo, as told to Izvestia in Russia recently. The asteroid’s closest approach to earth is scheduled for 15 February 2013, when they predict that the distance between it and earth will be under 27,000 km (16,700 miles). With the asteroid zooming that low, it will be too late to do anything with it besides trying to predict its final destination and the consequences of impact. However, NASA’s David Dunham did say: “The asteroid may split into pieces entering the atmosphere. In this case, most parts of it will never reach the planet’s surface.” But theories are that if the entire asteroid did crash into the planet, the impact will be as hard as in the Tunguska blast, which in 1908 knocked down trees over a total area of 2,150 sq km (830 sq miles) in Siberia. So keep your head down and watch the skies. –Digital Journal
As you can see, the Earth distance of object 2012 DA14 on the JPL chart approaches 16,700 miles on February 16, 2013, where the question of gravity accretion could be an issue depending on the trajectory path of the asteroid. It could also be a miss. The A.M. or Apparent Magnitude scale puts the object’s brightness at 24.4 H, which would make it a little brighter than Pluto’s moon, Nix, which means it would not be highly visible to the naked eye until it entered Earth’s atmosphere. –The Extinction Protocol
Earth’s gravity: Earth could capture an asteroid, but only under certain conditions. The asteroid would have to be a certain size, traveling at just the right speed, and grazing by Earth at just the right angle. For example, a bus-sized asteroid grazing Earth’s atmosphere might be captured by our planet’s gravity. Afterward, moon’s gravity might pull it into a stable orbit above Earth – to give Earth a second moon. Planetary scientists believe that asteroid capture was common billions of years ago. The planets are thought to have formed by a process of “accretion” – where small chunks of debris came together to form larger chunks. So there were lots more chunks – what we now call “asteroids” – moving through the solar system back then. –Earth-Sky
Should a Tunguska type event occur on our planet today, especially over a populated metropolitan area, millions would be killed instantly, with many millions more being affected by the social and economic reverberations that may result from the catastrophe.
According to NASA, there is a distinct possibility that an asteroid recently identified by star gazers in Spain could hit Earth around February 15, 2013.
Based on its size and trajectory, it’s estimated that the 60 to 100 meter wide asteroid, dubbed 2012 DA14, could be similar in scope and devastation to Tunguska should it enter our atmosphere.
Scientists aren’t exactly sure where on Earth the impact would occur, but they are sounding proximity warnings now:
The asteroid, known as DA14, will pass by our planet in February 2013 at a distance of under 27,000 km (16,700 miles). This is closer than the geosynchronous orbit of some satellites.
There is a possibility the asteroid will collide with Earth, but further calculation is required to estimate the potential threat and work out how to avert possible disaster, NASA expert Dr. David Dunham told students at Russia’s University of Electronics and Mathematics.
“The Earth’s gravitational field will alter the asteroid’s path significantly. Further scrupulous calculation is required to estimate the threat of collision,” said Dr. Dunham, as transcribed by Russia’s Izvestia.
“The asteroid may break into dozens of small pieces, or several large lumps may split from it and burn up in the atmosphere. The type of the asteroid and its mineral structure can be determined by spectral analysis. This will help predict its behavior in the atmosphere and what should be done to prevent the potential threat,” said Dr. Dunham.
In the event of a collision, scientists have calculated that the energy released would equate to the destructive power of a thermo-nuclear bomb.
Source: RT
How close is it?
In 2005, scientists warned of the potentially hazardous asteroid named YU55, which passed within 200,000 miles of earth.
In space distance terms, 2012 DA14 which will be within 20,000 miles of earth, is just a stones throw away.
It’s close, as demonstrated by the following orbit diagram from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory:
Asteroid impacts are certainly a low probability event – well, at least when we look at them in terms of human time scales. But history is replete with evidence that asteroid impacts have been responsible for massive earth changes, and that they happen fairly regularly when considered in times scales of tens of millions of years.
While the chances of earth being hit by a ‘global killer’ during our lifetime is remote, the Tunguska event and DA14′s near-earth passing next year is strong evidence that smaller impacts do happen quite regularly – perhaps at least once a century.
DA14 may not be a global killer, but it is certainly large enough to destroy an entire city or region, an event that could lead to destabilization and systemic, cascading collapse in other parts of our intertwined modern day economic, financial and political systems.
We’re not suggesting that we should all panic because of DA14′s near earth passing, or even potential impact, because if this asteroid is meant to hit us there’s nothing that we as individuals on the ground here on earth can do about it.
However, the US government is and has been Preparing For Unlikely Events Like War, Catastrophic Collapse of Society, and Even Asteroids, so you can feel confident knowing that you’re not a lunatic to at least consider the possibility of an asteroid impact adversely affecting life as we know it.
Take a page out of the the government’s SHTF plan. Far-from-equilibrium events do happen and as unlikely or improbable as they may be, include wide-spread natural disasters like mega Tsunamis, mega quakes, super volcanoes and asteroid impacts.
Why are you worried about asteroids when there is an object five times the size of The Earth appoaching – due 21/22.12.12? I call it Big Red.(Planet X1)(Nibiru, Planet X, is coming to rescue us.
The increasing number of asteroids is due to our being IN the tail of Big Red – which is full iof JUNK. Like asteroids,etc.
Vic.