Safeway-size asteroid to get closer to Earth than satellites

I have since found that the asteroid will approach Earth from the South Pole, then flyby Southwestern Australia to over the tip of India, and exit the Earth/Moon system over Europe towards Greenland.

This strange trajectory is due to the gravitational pull of Earth.
Its closest point will be midway over the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea as shown in the YouTube Video cover below.

The only Video I could find on YouTube is here:


There are updates, and two more NASA videos, and trajectory plots here:
NASA - Asteroid 2012 DA14 ? Earth Flyby Reality Check

The flyby in my area of Central Pa. will occur from 16:20 to 19:00 EST (4:20am - 7:00pm EST). Friday February 15th, 2013.

Thanks Steve,

Pretty cool info - I guess we don't get to see it here in PA

Your welcome,

Oh, it could be, but because its in the late morning/afternoon you would have to have the equipment that exceeds the wherewithall of the common man.

• A Radio telescope.
• A >than 16" telescope.
• Daytime Filters
• CCD camera
• Motorized Mount

Something on the order of this:


Source: Asteroid 2012 DA14 Can Be Seen On Real-Time Video Offered By Clay Center Observatory in Brookline, Massachusetts - Space News - redOrbit

This is what I have:

Source: Company Seven | The Criterion Dynascope RV-6 Telescope
A 6" Motorized Bausch & Lomb German Equatorial, but it is woefully under-powered for this event.

I don't know your location in PA., but if you go to this page you'll see the map is centered on State College, Pa.: Asteroid 2012 DA14 Flyby
You'll notice the asteroid is coming out of the North and heading up and away to the South from the Earth. It looks like it's heading down but that's what its doing, up and away, and at 2:00pm (19:00) it will be too high to see any more unless you have the above mentioned equipment.

Sometimes I get a skull pain trying to figure this stuff out.

I'm about an hour or so east of you - straight line on Rte30

Funny thing you mention skull pain - I said something similar when I eMailed the Heavens Above link to some friends

So my $ store reading glasses won't work, huh?

We could be pretty close to each other. I only used State College as a reference point.
I'm not that paranoid about my privacy, but I'm not going to just blurt out my zip code or street address.

If you are referring to being an hour east of State college on 30, that would put you in the New Oxford area on 30, close?

Here's my reckin'


I'm up near the the second arrow and star, 8miles Northwest of Hbg.

The local vernacular kinda grows on ya, and no, your store bought's won't do very well, h*ll even my scripts won't get me past the back yard.

C'mon Steve... at least your street address - who could possibly figure anything out from that alone?

Sorry, my reference was east of H'burg, not east of Happy Valley.

Anyway - yes, our locales are fairly close, but Google says 1.5 hours. They probably don't drive as fast as I do on the back roads (or even hiways)

I did the locater thing for my location, N of Indy, but can't make sense of it.

I think I will be able to see it ?, if my new binoculars arrive in time.
Got Carson 12x50's.

Heavens-Above Home Page

North of Indy - 15:30 - 18:00, almost due North in the sky map

17:00 - 18:00 look towards Draco
18:30 look towards Ursa Minor

Britton30 said:

I did the locater thing for my location, N of Indy, but can't make sense of it.

Oh what the hell, I don't know what it means either Just look up

I suspect it will be too din to see anyway, as they say. I'll have to borrow Steve's 105" telescope.