Image: Orbit of 2012 DA14 and Chelyabinsk meteor 2

Description: How can we tell that the Russian meteor isn't related to asteroid 2012 DA14? One way is to look at meteor showers -- the Orionids all have orbits similar to that of to their parent comet, Halley. Similarly, the Geminids all move in orbits that closely resemble that of the asteroid 3200 Phaethon, which produced them. So if the Russian meteor was a fragment of 2012 DA14, it would have an orbit very similar to that of the asteroid. It does not... In this image, the orbit of the Earth is the green circle. That of asteroid 2012 DA14, which passed by Earth, is the smaller nearly circular blue ellipse that is almost entirely within the orbit of the Earth. The larger, more elongated blue ellipse, stretching well beyond the orbit of Mars, is the first determination of the orbit of the Russian meteor. The two are nothing alike. This is one reason -- a big one -- why NASA says the Chelyabinsk meteor and asteroid 2012 DA14 are not connected. (The original NASA image has been modified by doubling the linear pixel density, brightening and adding or editing labels.)
Title: Orbit of 2012 DA14 and Chelyabinsk meteor 2
Credit: http://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2013/02/20/post_1361037562855/
Author: NASA / MSFC / Meteroid Environment Office
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No