JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was a "close call" Thursday morning when an astroid came within 27,000 miles from crashing into our planet.
The large space rock over 100 feet in diameter was never a threat because NASA astrophysicists computed the the path to fly over Antarctica at 16,000 mph.
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For perspective, the astroid called 2012 TC4 came much closer to Earth than the moon's position 240,000 miles away or just a few thousand miles from the position of geostationary satellite orbits.
If the close call kept you from sleeping here is another reason to wake up early.
The star Regulus will flash off and then return before your eyes if you are awake early on Sunday morning during a lunar occultation.
The crescent moon, will pass in front of the star blocking the starlight at 5:31:35 a.m.over the First Coast.
The best part will be watching its reappearance along the top upper part of the Moon's dark limb minutes to more than an hour later.
You won't need any instrument just your naked eye to see the dark passage.
This lunar occultation will occur about two hours before sunrise at 7:30 a.m. offering great viewing in the predawn darkness.