Ship-Sized Astroid to Cruise by Earth on Feb. 15 - But You Can Relax, It Won't Hit
A Discovery News reports says that this astroid is the size of a cruise ship, but it won't strike earth. We can't expect to always be that lucky though.
Things in space can get far out — literally. But sometimes things get a little too close for comfort. Thank goodness that's not the case with an asteroid the size of a cruise ship — 2012 DA14 — that Discovery News reports will safely bypass Earth on Feb. 15. But, and there IS a but ... in relative space distances, the asteroid is cutting it close — 17,200 miles from our planet or 1/13th the distance from the Earth to the moon, according to the report. The asteroid is coming close enough that Earth's gravitational pull will affect its orbit around the sun, shortening it from 368 days to 317. If something the size of Asteroid 2012 DA14 did hit Earth, it would cause crippling damage on a local scale. According to the report, it is …
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