NASA says the “potentially hazardous” 2017 VR12 is going to whizz by at around 7.53am on Wednesday.
If it hit Earth, it’s unlikely it would survive entering our atmosphere, although anyone standing underneath it would probably have a very bad day if they were hit by its debris. However, the asteroid will come within just 70,000 miles of Earth which is extremely close.
A more worrying asteroid encounter will take place on March 7, when a ‘potentially hazardous’ rock bigger than Buckingham Palace will zoom past us.
The monster space rock is believed to be up to 470 metres wide, which is large enough to wipe out an entire city if it hit our planet.
Nasa named the object 2017 VR12 and listed on its ‘Earth Close Approaches’ website.
It will zoom harmlessly past Earth on March 7.
If the asteroid is as big as expected, it could have a surface area of almost 55 acres. Buckingham Palace takes up about 19 acres, with its gardens occupying another 40 acres.
