VARIOUS: Excited astronomers and star gazers from Asia to Europe fix their sights on the night skies to catch a glimpse of the asteroid that scrapes past their planet

Record ID: 217170

  • Title: VARIOUS: Excited astronomers and star gazers from Asia to Europe fix their sights on the night skies to catch a glimpse of the asteroid that scrapes past their planet
  • Date: 16th February 2013
  • Summary: MANILA, PHILIPPINES (FEBRUARY 16, 2013) (REUTERS) FILIPINO ASTRONOMER ARRANGING TELESCOPE FILIPINO ASTRONOMER PEEKING AT TELESCOPE FILIPINO ASTRONOMERS LOOKING AT SKY PHILIPPINE ATMOSPHERIC GEOPHYSICAL AND ASTRONOMICAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION WEATHER SPECIALIST RENATO DE LEON SEATED AND POINTING AT COMPUTER MONITOR MONITOR SHOWING TELESCOPE ANGLE (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) P
  • Embargoed: 3rd March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain, Philippines, Thailand
  • City:
  • Country: Philippines Thailand Spain
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Space
  • Reuters ID: LVA5LKVGTDACLEVCX7TET2J3NP4Z
  • Story Text: Astronomers and star gazing enthusiasts in the Philippines capital Manila scoured the night skies in the early hours of Saturday (February 16) morning to record the close encounter of an asteroid the size of an Olympic pool sweeping past the earth.
    Asteroid 2012 DA14 made its closest approach to the Earth at about 17,500 miles (28,164 kilometres) above Indonesia and has now moved away.
    Astronomy enthusiasts watched this rare occurrence at the University of the Philippines Observatory with binoculars and telescopes in hand.
    While the asteroid was barely visible underneath the hazy skies of Manila, astronomers say it could still help in their study of astronomical bodies and allayed fears of any after effects.

    "It will not affect any communication lines, but rather gives astronomers the chance to study these types of asteroids," says Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration specialist Renato De Leon.
    Students at Madel Lazaro believe studying the asteroid will help astronomers identify hazards that could help people avoid the kind of incident that struck Russia earlier in the day when a meteorite exploded over the Urals. The two incidents were not related scientists say.
    Later on astronomers and sky watchers in Chang Mai, northern Thailand did the same thing.
    Doi Inthanont sits atop a hilly national park where few gathered around the 2.4 meter (7.9 foot) telescope, the largest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.
    Scientists said the asteroid is too dim to be spotted without a telescope or binoculars.
    Although Asteroid 2012 DA14 is the largest known object of its size to pass this close, scientists say there is no chance of an impact on Saturday (February 16) or in the foreseeable future.
    These scenes were repeated in Europe where astronomers said they were keen to find out what minerals the asteroid contains as well its spin rate.
    The information not only will be useful to plotting DA14's future visits but could help engineers develop techniques to thwart more threatening asteroids.
    Sadly, as across much of Europe as well as Asia, the skies were cloudy at the Spanish space observatory of Sabadell, on Friday (February 15) night when the asteroid passed by.
    Albert Izard, a 24 year old student, said he felt a bit disappointed but hoped to be luckier on next time.

    "The fact that an asteroid comes so close to the Earth is something they say has never happened before, at least in recent history. It is a bit disappointing not seeing anything. I would have liked to see it, but you can't really get angry or blame anyone. You can only go home hoping to be luckier next time," he said.
    The Sabadell observatory was cautious and warned its path could change and an impact with the Earth was not completely impossible.

    "This asteroid is not really dangerous because the probability of impact is one in five million in this orbit. But in a near future it could be dangerous because its orbit could change with time. But this little chance of impact is calculated till 2111," vice-president Xavi Puig told Reuters.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register