Near-Miss Asteroid Won't Be Visible From Foxborough
Scientists expect the asteroid to come very close to the Earth - about 17,200 miles away, or only 1/13th the distance to the moon. While a collision is not expected, the asteroid would have enough force to "flatten" about 750 square miles.
An asteroid Friday will pass Earth within the moon's orbit, flying lower than communications, weather and GPS satellites high above the planet, according to Space.com. But skywatchers should know that you won't be able to see it from Foxborough. While it will be the nearest to Earth an object of its size has ever passed, asteroid 2012 DA 14 won't be visible from Massachusetts, even with a telescope, because the action will happen during the daylight hours, said astronomer David Dundee, who analyzes images and data captured by NASA's fireball cameras at Tellus Science Museum. "The distance is about 1/13th the distance to the moon," Dundee said, adding the asteroid will be the closest—17,200 miles from Earth—at 2:24 p.m. "2012 DA 14 is about…
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