If 2012 DA14 did hit Earth....

[whc.03grady]

It won’t, but if the calculations were off and it did, do we have a rough idea of where?
I suppose it depends on how the calculations were off.

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

The closest approach appears to be over the Indian Ocean (approximately 6° S by 97.5° E per a NASA estimate). The nearest landmass to that point appears to be Sumatra. The size of the asteroid is such that it would probably disintegrate in the atmosphere, albeit with an impressive conversion of kinetic energy in a massive thermal blast and attendant shockwave, but it would be unlikely to generate a significant tsunami or other seismic effects.

Stranger

[squeegee]

Hijacking: NASA (via Astronomy.com) says http://www.astronomy.com/~/link.aspx?_id=dfefa5e9-cd1e-4d0d-a81c-0a8b67308c7a]says 2012 DA14 will pass 17,200 miles away from Earth. Is that figure calculated from the center or surface of our planet?

[ZenBeam]

Fixed link. A page linked to from that one says

Asteroid 2012 DA14 will be closest to Earth on February 15 at about 2:24 p.m. EST, when it will be at a distance of about 17,200 miles (27,700 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

[Michael63129]

The Impact Earth calculator suggests that even if it hit a major city the damage wouldn’t be too severe since most of it would break up before it reached the ground; a few pieces might make it, with the main effect being a boom and 100 mph shock wave:

The projectile begins to breakup at an altitude of 59900 meters = 196000 ft
The projectile bursts into a cloud of fragments at an altitude of 10200 meters = 33300 ft.
The residual velocity of the projectile fragments after the burst is 7.72 km/s = 4.79 miles/s.
The energy of the airburst is 2.19 x 10^16 Joules = 5.24 x 10^0 MegaTons.
No crater is formed, although large fragments may strike the surface.

The air blast will arrive approximately 30.9 seconds after impact.
Peak Overpressure: 22300 Pa = 0.223 bars = 3.17 psi
Max wind velocity: 48.2 m/s = 108 mph
Sound Intensity: 87 dB (Loud as heavy traffic)

Damage Description:
Glass windows will shatter.
About 30 percent of trees blown down; remainder have some branches and leaves blown off.

[Distance: 1 km (minimum distance); wind speed drops to 81 mph at 10 km]

[Saint_Cad]

I doubt it would be visible from Earth because of its small size but is there any chance of getting photos of it from our satellites with Earth in the background? That would make a cool desktop pic.

[anson2995]

@Saint_Cad

I doubt it would be visible from Earth because of its small size but is there any chance of getting photos of it from our satellites with Earth in the background? That would make a cool desktop pic.

The article ZenBeam linked says: “The asteroid will fly by our planet quite rapidly, at a speed of about 17,400 mph (28,000 km/h) in a south-to-north direction with respect to Earth.” So it’s gonna be a blurry picture.

[John_Mace]

What Would Happen if Asteroid 2012 DA14 Hit Earth?

[Michael63129]

@John_Mace

What Would Happen if Asteroid 2012 DA14 Hit Earth?

That article seems to suggest that it would cause a Tunguska-type event, but the Impact Earth calculator suggests a much milder event; for comparison, they give an airblast of 600+ mph (at 1 km) for the Tunguska event, which is far greater despite being only about 1.33 times bigger, using their size of 60 m, twice what the Yahoo article gives (in diameter, 2.4 times the volume/weight if of the same composition).

[Leaffan]

Looks like it will be televised live at NASA Live - NASA tomorrow at 2:00 P.M.

The half-hour broadcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California will be animated, and it will continually update the exact location of the asteroid as it approaches.

If the weather co-operates, it will also show live photos of the asteroid flying over, from observatories in Australia.