Were these companions of the asteroid that was supposed to miss us by about 20K miles sometime Friday?
Not sure of the date, because it supposed to pass during our daytime, I think.
I’ll have to go do more research.
http://news.yahoo.com/5-reasons-care-fridays-asteroid-flyby-042802278.html
Today about 2:20-2:30pm ET.
Today, 15-Feb-2013, at 1425 hours, EDT.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2013/13feb_asteroidcoverage/
NASA Television will provide commentary starting at 2 p.m. EST (11 a.m. PST) on Friday, Feb. 15, during the close, but safe, flyby of a small near-Earth asteroid named 2012 DA14. NASA places a high priority on tracking asteroids and protecting our home planet from them. This flyby will provide a unique opportunity for researchers to study a near-Earth object up close.
The half-hour broadcast from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., will incorporate real-time animation to show the location of the asteroid in relation to Earth, along with live or near real-time views of the asteroid from observatories in Australia, weather permitting.
At the time of its closest approach to Earth at approximately 2:25 p.m. EST (11:25 a.m. PST/ 19:25 UTC), the asteroid will be about 17,150 miles (27,600 kilometers) above Earths surface. Measuring approximately 50 meters wide, 2012 DA14 is about half the size of a football field. Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object this big come so close to our planet. The asteroid will actually pass closer to Earth than many manmade satellites.
The commentary will be available via NASA TV and streamed live online at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv and http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
In addition to the commentary, near real-time imagery of the asteroids flyby before and after closest approach, made available to NASA by astronomers in Australia and Europe, weather permitting, will be streamed beginning at about noon EST (9 a.m. PST) and continuing through the afternoon at http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2
Also, a Ustream feed of the flyby from a telescope at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will be streamed for three hours starting at 9 p.m. EST (8 p.m. CST). To view the feed and ask researchers questions about the flyby via Twitter, visit http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-msfc
For more information, including graphics and animations showing the flyby of 2012 DA14, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/asteroidflyby
That was my first thought. The second thought was, how many others might there be if that's the case? The third thought is, do I want to spend the day in the studio or outside with a camera?
You would think with all of the eyes in the sky with the approaching asteroid that they might have seen this 10 ton meteor coming.
Maybe the resolution is quite good enough to see a 10 ton meteor. 10 ton = large pickup truck sized?
The asteroid itself will miss us by quite a bit, but no celestial rock is alone in its transit of the solar system. Something the size of DA2012 is going to have satellite rocks surrounding it. I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these stories throughout the day today.
Were these companions of the asteroid that was supposed to miss us by about 20K miles sometime Friday?
At least one Russian scientist thinks it could have been.