WASHINGTON – An asteroid is headed towards Earth — and while astronomers say we’re not in any danger, we won’t have a good view from North America to see it pass over the planet.
The best locations to see the asteroid fly by Feb. 15 will be from Eastern Europe, Asia and Australia. The Bareket Observatory in Israel is offering a live webcast of the asteroid’s visible flight which you can watch by following this link.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass Friday on its closest approach at about 2:24 p.m. EST, and will come within 17,200 miles from Earth. The asteroid’s approach is so close, in fact, it will interrupt communications satellites rotating the planet at a distance of 22,000 miles, reports Australia’s International Business Times.
While the webcast of the asteroid’s path is expected to work, astronomers at the Bareket Observatory are asking viewers for patience with the live feed.
“Since the data load from the incoming images is so extent, our system limits itself to refreshing about every 30 to 60 seconds. This means the image will appear static then reset itself automatically. There can also be unforeseen glitches such as viewer overload so please be patient,” the observatory’s site says.
Below at 2 p.m., you can watch NASA’s commentary and live or near real-time views of the rock from observatories in Australia if weather allows. NASA also will show near real-time animation of the asteroid’s path.
Streaming video by Ustream
Additionally, you can see near real-time imagery of the asteroid fly-by before and after its closest approach, courtesy of astronomers in Australia and Europe. Viewing of that is expected to begin below at 12 p.m. and continue through the afternoon.
Streaming video by Ustream
Finally, you can watch a Ustream feed of the flight from a telescope at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for three hours starting at 9 p.m.
Live broadcasting by Ustream
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