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Asteroid 2012 DA14 flew by the Earth on Friday, 15 February, coming within 27,700 km (17,200 miles, or roughly two Earth-diameters) at 19:24 UT (2:24 p.m. EST). 2012 DA14 is a near-Earth asteroid approximately 50 meters in diameter which passed from south to north over the Eastern Indian Ocean. Coincidentally, earlier the same day at 03:20 UT (10:20 EST, Feb. 14) an unrelated bolide disintegrated explosively in the atmosphere above Chelyabinsk, Russia. Early estimates give a size of 17 meters and a mass of 10 million kg.
The Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) Rover has completed its first drill hole into martian bedrock. This marks the first time a drill has been used to collect a sample on Mars. More information is available in the NASA Press Release.
This Day in Planetary and Lunar Exploration History
May 01
- 1949
- Neptune's moon Nereid discovered by G. Kuiper.
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- Last updated: 08 March 2013