We are safe! We knew we were going to be safe, but now we know we are safe. Now all the paranoids can relax, sit back, look at the sky and wave goodbye to 2012 DA14 as it leaves us at 8km/s.
It was a close call, but 2012 DA14 just passed by as predicted. It went through its closest point to Earth around 6.25pm AEDT. At this point, it was within the same range of Earth’s geostationary satellites.
By the way, there’s no reason to worry about these satellites either: NASA has been working with US Space Command and there’s no chance of collision with any spacecraft now in orbit.
So let’s celebrate until the next time.
6.25am AEDT: Phew! We are safe! There it goes. It has cleared its closest point to Earth and it’s now on its way out.
6.24am AEDT: The asteroid is second away from its closest point.
6.20am AEDT: On another note, everyone at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory appears to have awesome hair.
6.17am AEDT: You can follow the asteroid in real time 3D using NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System. It’s pretty awesome. Just visit that page and click on “Asteroid Flyby”.
6.13am AEDT: The asteroid is 28,000km away now. Australians can now see the asteroid using just binoculars.
6.09am AEDT: The video shows the asteroid as seen at 12.59 UTC from Samford Valley Observatory, Brisbane, Australia. It is moving towards us at a closing speed of 8km/s.
Picture: NASA Goddard/Flickr