Asteroid DA14 Seen as it departs Earths Orbit

Asteroid DA14

In this oblique view, the path of near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 is seen passing close to Earth on Feb. 15, 2013.

Outbound Near-Earth Asteroid, as Seen from Spain

This set of images from the La Sagra Sky Survey, operated by the Astronomical Observatory of Mallorca in Spain, shows the passage of asteroid 2012 DA14 shortly after its closest – and safe — approach to Earth. The images were taken around 12:59 p.m. PST (3:59 p.m. EST, or 20:59 UTC) on Feb. 15, 2013.

The images have been sped up 10 times.

In the last set of images, the fainter object that passes near the top of the field of view is a satellite or another asteroid.

Images courtesy of La Sagra Sky Survey