Iran Press/ Sci & Tech: The asteroid, known as 4660 Nereus, is due to pass planet Earth on December 11. The 330-meter-long asteroid, which is larger than the Shard in London, is traveling at speeds of up to four miles per second.
However, 4660 Nereus is thought not to pose a threat and is instead expected to whisk past at some 2.4million miles away from Earth, Daily Express reported.
This is around ten times the distance between Earth and the moon.
Despite this, the US space agency has described the rock as “potentially hazardous” due to a number of predicted close passes in the coming years.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) website, a “potentially hazardous” asteroid is at least 150metres in size and within 4.6million miles of Earth’s orbit.
While the rock will travel quite a distance away from Earth, Spacereference.org reports 4660 Nereus will make around a dozen close passes in the next few decades.
The closest is expected to come on Valentine’s Day in 2060 when it is said to be as close as 745,000 miles away.
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