Discovering asteroids that are about to fly close to Earth

An asteroid of the same type as the object that caused the Tunguska explosion in 1908 will fly over Earth in 2013.

>>>The Tunguska event, mysterious for more than a century

NASA said that an asteroid of the same type as the object that caused the famous Tunguska explosion in Russia in 1908 will fly over Earth in 2013.

According to NASA website data released February 26, this asteroid was named 2012 DA14.

According to NASA, it will move our planet about 26,900km on February 15, 2013, closer to satellites in geostationary orbit 35,700km from Earth.

This asteroid was first discovered by Spain's Observatorio Astronomico de La Sagra research station.

2012DA14 asteroid will fly closer than some artificial satellites.

2012DA14 has a diameter of about 40 to 95m and belongs to the group of near-planet Apollo asteroids that are easy to collide with our planet.

Astronomers groups around the world are continuing to monitor 2012DA14 to determine its size and trajectory.

According to the scientists, the estimated size of 2012 DA14 may be the same as the object that exploded in western Siberia (Russia) on June 30, 1908.

Although there are many theories given about this event in the Podkamennaya Tunguska river, the top explanation is still an aerial explosion caused by a 50m-sized asteroid or comet.

The power of the explosion is estimated to be equivalent to about 10-15 million tons of TNT or 1,000 times the volume of atomic bombs destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945.