On Friday night, 15 February, asteroid 2012 DA14 maked a close approach to our planet. In Spain, it first was seen from the peninsula at 21:00 local time (UT 20:00*) and half-an-hour later it was visible from the Canaries at 20:30 local time (UT 20:30). It was the closest approach by an asteroid since we have been able to predict their orbits. The IAC will show direct time-lapse videos on this page, as well as links to retransmissions.

(*) In winter Universal Time (UT) coincides with local Canarian time.

Uno de los vídeos ha sido seleccionado como Astronomical Image of the Day

JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA

• It measures 50 metres in diameter and is as black as coal.
• It got closer to us than geostationary satellites (Meteosat, Hispasat, etc.).
• If the Earth were a tennis ball, and the Moon a marble two metres away, the asteroid would pass a mere 14 centimetres from the Earth.
• Even though it will beat the Earth proximity record, it looked a basketball seen from a distance of 100 km and was not visible to the naked eye.

HOW LOOKED IT?

1. Looking at the sky: If you have binoculars or a telescope, follow the "Guide to observing asteroid 2012 DA14", which we have prepared for the event.
2. Live on the web:
   Via retransmission by the ESA(European Space Agency)with the IAC images taken with the OGS Telescope in the Observatorio del Teide (OT).
   - ESA Channel (completed), you can see the ESA Replay of the webcast
   Via retransmission by the GLORIA Project, in which IAC participate.
   - sky-live.tv
   - live.gloria-project.eu
3. At other times on the web: If because of Carnival or some other reason you weren’t able to view it directly, you will still have the opportunity to do so via the images that will be taken from the Teide Observatory with professional and amateur telescopes and photographic cameras, which will be uploaded on the top of this page.

More information:

IAC Press Release:

• Images of the IAC's tracking of the asteroid available online
• The visit of 2012 DA14, the closest ever asteroid to pass the Earth

ESA: Stranger in the night: Space rock to make close Earth flyby