The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
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Asteroid 2012 DA14 is predicted to make closest approach to Earth at 20:27 CET on 15 February 2013.
In this image acquired by amateur astronomer Dave Herald, Murrumbateman, Australia, asteroid 2012 DA14 is seen as a streak running almost vertically at centre. It is a three-minute min exposure, with the asteroid seen at -82.5 degrees and heading south. The streak is quite regular - indicating no major brightness variations over a time scale of three minutes. At closest approach, the object will be moving so fast as to cover this distance in approximately 15 seconds.