(367943) Duende

( 367943 ) is a near-Earth asteroid from the Duende Aten type. It was discovered on 23 February 2012 in Spain at the Observatorio de La Sagra Astronómico. Due to rough estimates of the brightness and the albedo the diameter was estimated to be several tens of meters.

The asteroid was named after the Spanish names for Goblins on 17 November, 2013, before he had become known by the provisional designation 2012 DA14.

Approximation February 2013

( 367943 ) Duende came on 15 February 2013, the earth close to about 27,700 km, which was within the orbit of geostationary satellites. The asteroid reached an apparent magnitude of 7.4 mag and was therefore not visible to the naked eye. The shortest distance to Earth he reached clock 20:24 (CET) on Sumatra and the eastern Indian Ocean. At the time of its closest approach to the shifted position of the asteroid in the sky by about 0.8 degrees per minute. Due to the close encounter with the Earth, the orbit of the asteroid changed. He was from the Apollo - type to the Aten type.

For the period shortly after the closest approach of the asteroid radar observations were planned. At the Goldstone Observatory measurements were with the 70 - meter antenna, with a resolution of less than four meters per pixel is performed. Preliminary data show an elongated shape of the celestial body.

As a result of being held in Russia on the same day meteor strike Duende has been speculation in the media, first through a connection with the flyby of ( 367943 ). According to the European Space Agency, however this is due to the different orbits of both objects excluded and the short time difference by chance.

Section of the circulation of DA14 to the sun and the approach to the Earth in 2013

Closest approach of the asteroid to the Earth, to scale

Radar images from the 15th to February 16th 2013