AUSTIN -- While a meteor exploded over the skies of Chelyabinsk,
Russia early Friday, a much bigger asteroid – 2012 DA14 -- flew
harmlessly by Earth Friday afternoon. The giant rock was about
150 feet long or about half the height of the Texas State
Capitol. Asteroids that size fly by Earth approximately every 40
years. According to NASA, it flew within 17,200 miles of Earth,
which is lower than the orbit of communications satellites.
University of Texas astronomy professor Dr. Judit Gyorgyey Ries
says Friday's flyby, as well as the meteor over Russia, show the
importance of tracking near-earth objects. “What I am excited
about is that we knew it ahead of time. We knew it a year ahead
of time that it’s going to happen, which shows that the search
programs are really doing their job, and not just the search
programs, but astronomers, who are keeping track of these little
buddies,” she said. "In spite of this being a close encounter
and that thing reaching Russia, don't lose sleep over it." The
asteroid’s flyby