The flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14 on Feb. 15, 2013, will be the closest known approach to Earth for an object its size.
asteroid
On February 15 a small asteroid named 2012 DA-14 will whiz by, 17,200 miles from Earth. It doesn't pose any threat to us, but it is sure to create a buzz around the world.
On Feb. 15th an asteroid about half the size of a football field will fly past Earth closer than many man-made satellites.
Since regular sky surveys began in the 1990s, astronomers have never seen an object so big come so close to our planet.