This Christmas Eve, children around the world may be hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh flying through the skies.
But NASA has warned that jolly Old Saint Nick won’t be the only thing whizzing over our heads this December 24.
A massive ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ the size of a 10-story building will skim past Earth at 14,743mph.
According to NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard, asteroid 2024 XN1 should pass by harmlessly at a distance of 4.48 million miles (7.21 million km) from Earth.#
Although this will be a near miss by astronomical standards, experts say there is no chance of Christmas being ruined by a collision with this vast space rock.
Jess Lee, astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, told MailOnline: ‘It will be very far away, around 18 times further away from the Earth than the Moon is, and so with this predicted path won’t come close enough to hit the Earth.’
But at an estimated size of 29 to 70 metres (95-230 ft) in diameter, this is a stark reminder of just how close Earth can get to a deadly encounter.
If 2024 XN1 were to hit the planet, scientists estimate that it would impact with a force equivalent to 12 million tonnes of TNT and flatten an area of 700 square miles (2,000 square.
NASA has warned that the huge ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ will skim past Earth on December 24 at 14,743mph
The Christmas Eve asteroid was only spotted on December 12 as NASA and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) planetary defence systems noticed its approach.
