NASA shares photos of Earth, seen from Saturn and Mercury
NASA has shared new images of the Earth and moon, as seen from Saturn and Mercury. In this photo captured by the Cassini orbiter on July 19, Saturn’s rings can be seen with Earth and the moon. Earth is a blue dot at the center right; the moon can be seen as a fainter protrusion off its right side.
Asteroid to make close approach to Earth next week
Space.com: An asteroid half the size of a football field will make a close approach to Earth next week, but poses no threat of crashing into our planet, NASA officials say.
Asteroid 2012 DA14’s close encounter is a record-breaking celestial event, according to Don Yeomans, the head of NASA’s asteroid-tracking program. An object this large only passes this close to the Earth about once every 40 years, and likely only hits the planet once every 1,200 years, Yeomans says.
Photo: A diagram depicting the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 through the Earth-moon system on Feb. 15, 2013. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)