As asteroid 2012 DA14 makes its close pass by us tomorrow, it gives us a sobering look at how Earth is locked in a cosmic shooting gallery, but in reality this 50-metre wide rock is only one hundreds of known asteroids that are flying around us, as shown in this latest map from the Armagh Observatory:
Daily map of asteroids within 0.3AU of the Earth
This 3D map shows the current location of asteroids in our vicinity. A dot represents the position of each asteroid, along with the asteroid's name. The vertical line for each entry joins the dot to the plane of Earth's orbit. If the dot is at the top of the line, that means the asteroid is above the plane of our orbit, and if the dot is at the bottom of the line, that means it's below the plane of our orbit. Arrows from the dot show the direction the asteroid is traveling today, and the color of each asteroid's map entry indicates its threat level.
Tomorrow’s asteroid near-miss is only a hint of what’s really out there
