If you anticipated seeing stars this Valentine’s Day, you weren’t far off.
Asteroid 2012 DA14 is projected to pass “dangerously close” to earth Feb. 15 — potentially taking out some important communication satellites.
Discovered last year, the asteroid is half the length of a football field, weighs 130,000 metric tons and will pass Earth at a closer distance than the Moon at some 17,000 miles per hour. But astronomers, including HMNS’ own VP of Astronomy Carolyn Sumners, have put our stammering hearts to rest — sort of:
“Asteroids this size – the one we’re talking about for next week – can destroy a city, not a planet,” Sumners told MyFoxHouston.
Luckily, NASA says there’s no chance of impact. This year, the cosmic love’s on you.