New Year’s asteroid that’s larger than BIG BEN to whizz by Earth
AN asteroid that is larger than Big Ben is set to whizz by Earth.
The massive rock has been named 2013 YD48 by NASA who branded it a “potentially hazardous object”.
The asteroid is set to pass within 3.48million miles of Earth on January 11 – a relatively close call in astronomical terms.
It is approximately 340ft (104m) wide which makes it bigger than Big Ben.
And while the distance the asteroid will pass by the Earth seems far it is not that much in reality.
It has been reported that NASA identifies anything that passes within 120million miles of Earth as a Near-Earth Object (NEO).
Asteroid 2013 YD48 is being monitored by NASA on its Asteroid Watch Dashboard.
Experts track thousands of NEO’s checking whether they’re too close to Earth.
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Meanwhile, there are three smaller asteroids set to pass by Earth in the coming weeks.
Asteroid 2021 YK which is 38ft (12m) wide is expected to pass within 118,000 miles of Earth on Sunday.
2014 YE15, which measures 24ft (7m) wide will pass by on January 6, within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth.
And the third asteroid, 2020 AP1, which is only 13ft (4m) across, will pass on January 7, at 1.08million miles.
Another massive asteroid is due to pass by our planet on January 18, after Nostradamus made a chilling prediction about a strike.
The 7482 (1994 PC1), massive rock is around two and a half times the height of the Empire State Building.
It is expected to pass at a distance of 0.013 astronomical units, according to Nasa’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.