Twenty years ago, no one would likely have discovered 2012 DA14, Yeomans said.

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It will not be visible to the naked eye, because it's small, "about half the size of a football field, " Yeomans said.

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"The meteor was probably about the size of an SUV, " said Donald Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the laboratory, in Pasadena, Calif.

WSJ: Meteor Creates a Show, No Apparent Damage

It's hard to predict exactly how bright Pan-STARRS will be, but you should be able to see it without binoculars or telescopes, said Don Yeomans of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program.

CNN: Welcome to the year of the comet (we hope)

"No Earth impact is possible, " said asteroid expert Donald Yeomans at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

WSJ: Asteroid to Narrowly Miss Earth Next Week