People living in the west of Australia are well placed to see a space rock half the size of a football field skim past Earth next weekend.
Discovered last year, the asteroid called 2012 DA14 is described by NASA as 'the biggest asteroid they've ever seen passing so close to Earth".
The asteroid will make its nearest approach to Earth at 6.24 am AEDT* on the 16 February (19.24 UTC 15 February), when it will be less than 27,700 kilometres above the ground.
From its brightness, scientists estimate it's between fifty and eighty metres wide and weighs about 130,000 tonnes.
"The asteroid will approach the planet over Antarctica, crossing the Indian Ocean west of Perth, with the closest approach being near the Indonesian island of Sumatra," says astronomer Craig O'Neill from Macquarie University.
"The western portions of Australia from Adelaide to Perth should be able to see it, but you'll still need a small telescope or a solid pair of binoculars."
Although the asteroid is not expected to hit Earth, scientists are watching its orbit.
2012 DA14 circles the Sun in an orbit almost identical to Earth's, but tipped by about 12 degrees and slightly more elongated.
"This isn't typical for an asteroid population, it's been perturbed at some point and it's not particularly stable where it is," says O'Neill. "If it were to hit the Earth, it would impact with the force of a 2.4 megaton bomb."
In 1908, a space rock about the size of 2012 DA14 exploded in the skies above Tunguska Siberia, flattening over 2000 square kilometres of forest.
Read more: Record asteroid to fly close to Earth › News in Science (ABC Science)
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