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Asteroid to make close approach to Earth next week

Space.com: An asteroid half the size of a football field will make a close approach to Earth next week, but poses no threat of crashing into our planet, NASA officials say.

Asteroid 2012 DA14’s close encounter is a record-breaking celestial event, according to Don Yeomans, the head of NASA’s asteroid-tracking program. An object this large only passes this close to the Earth about once every 40 years, and likely only hits the planet once every 1,200 years, Yeomans says.

Photo: A diagram depicting the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Astroidal neighbor

(via poptech)