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| Nasa say an asteroid is due to pass two million miles away from Earth on Monday |
A giant asteroid is due to whizz past the Earth in the early hours of this morning - as Nasa warns another rock could destroy the planet next century.
The asteroid will make an "Earth Close Approach" today, passing around two million miles away from our planet - that is about eight times the distance to the Moon away.
It may seem a lot, but in space terms that is deemed near - all the more alarming given its whopping size, as big as 460 feet in diameter, which is considered 'potentially hazardous'.
Dubbed 'Asteroid AG3', it measures around twice the wingspan of a Boeing 747 aeroplane, reports the Express.
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| More alarmingly than today's asteroid is the prospect of 'apocalypse' rock Bennu hitting Earth |
A NASA report on asteroid dangers reads: “Larger Near-Earth Objects greater than 140 meters have the potential to inflict severe damage to entire regions or continents.
“Fortunately, these are far less common and are easier to detect and track than smaller Near-Earth Objects."
But perhaps more alarmingly, the US space agency has warned that an 87million tonne 'apocalypse asteroid' could hit the Earth with such force that it would release 80,000 times more energy that the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
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| The stunning image captured shows Earth and the moon (bottom left) in the distance, with Bennu |
A probe captured the incredible image of the rock named Bennu - taller than the Empire State Building - which shows the Earth as but a dot away from the asteroid which is over 1,500 times heavier than the Titanic, reports the Mail.
Scientists claim that if it hits Earth, it could potentially destroy the entirety of the human race.
But our generation and our children's generation should be safe, as it is not meant to pass close to the earth until next century, between 2175 and 2199.
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| It is thought current defence methods would prove ineffective against Bennu |
And even when it does come close, it is still a one in 2,700 chance of it hitting planet Earth.
Should the rock defy the odds at hit us, experts say the present-day spacecrafts designed by NASA to stop asteroids would probably be ineffective against the sheer might of Bennu.
If scientists launched just one deflector craft to Bennu, it could take up to seven and a half years.
