2013: Look up in the Sky!

“Two comets and two asteroids will pass close to the Earth in 2013… The infamous asteroid Apophis, named after the Egyptian god of darkness, will pass by the Earth – at a safe distance of almost 15 million kilometers – on January 10, 2013. Astronomers will however be anxiously following its path, and collecting data…
This 300-meter-wide asteroid may come uncomfortably close when it passes again a decade and a half later. On Friday, April 13, 2029, it will be just 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) away from the surface of the planet. That's closer than weather and communications satellites in geostationary orbit, which are 36,000 kilometers (22,370 miles) from the equator. And seven years after that, there's a one in 100,000 chance that Apophis might even collide with the Earth …In mid-February, the asteroid 2012 DA 14 will … come within 24,000 kilometers (15,000 miles) of the Earth… The comet Pan-STARRS will be visible in March … Astronomers calculate that Pan-STARRS should then be visible to the naked eye, and will have an impressive tail … Later in the year [November], the comet ISON may prove even more impressive … the comet should be clearly visible by day as a bright light alongside the Sun …”

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