A large asteroid will soar by the Planet Earth and will be visible in Australia even to those using a backyard telescope or binoculars.  And the best part is that astronomers say there’s no chance of it crashing here.

Asteroid 2012 DA14 is coming and it will pass within 27,700 kilometers of Earth.  That’s a close shave, one-tenth the distance from the Earth to the Moon and actually LOWER than a number of geosynchronous satellites.

If it were to hit, and let’s just repeat that the experts say it will not, it wouldn’t be good.  DA14 is about 50 meters long, the same size as the space rock that crashed in Russia in 1908 near Tunguska.  The impact was 1,000 times as powerful as the Atomic Bomb that leveled Hiroshima, registered 5.0 on the Richter scale, and knocked down 80 MILLION trees in the dense Siberian Forest.  But once again, that’s not going to happen this time.  

Australia is one of the best places to see DA14’s pass-by.  Starting shortly before dawn on 16 February, say 5:00 AM in the east and 2:00 AM in the west, and you don't need expensive equipment.  Stargazers with consumer-grade telescopes or binoculars can see the big rock on its voyage through our neighborhood. 

For more on where and when to look, Astronomer Geert Barensten has more on his website.