14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, announce that an asteroid will fly by very close to Earth today, March 5, passing within the orbit of the Moon. The object will not impact our planet, but rather go on its merry way after this encounter.
The discovery was made by the Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program Office, which the JPL manages for NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The object is now named 2014 DX110, and it has been determined to measure around 30 meters (100 feet) in diameter.
At its point of closest approach, the asteroid will fly just 350,000 kilometers (217,000 miles) away from our planet's surface. This event is scheduled to occur at 4 pm EST (2100GMT) on Wednesday, JPL investigators reported yesterday. The average Earth-Moon distance is around 385,000 kilometers (239,000 miles).
In order to detect any potential threats to our planet coming from outer space, NASA is using the NEO Observations Program, or Spaceguard, to scan the skies for rocks that could cause catastrophes on Earth if they impacted our planet. Emphasis in detection is placed on the largest boulders.
With the development of modern observation capabilities, astronomers have noticed that around 20 such asteroids give Earth a close shave every year, but none of them poses any dangers.