Asteroid‬, ‪Earth‬, ‪3200 Phaethon‬, ‪Potentially hazardous object‬‬

'Dangerous' THREE-MILE WIDE Asteroid 3200 Phaethon heads to Earth TONIGHT

The massive space rock, which causes the dramatic Geminids meteor shower, is speeding through space at 45,000mph of our planet.

NASA has branded the object, named 3200 Phaethon, "potentially hazardous".

However, the likelihood is that it will continue to be the beginning of the orbit the sun again.

At 5km wide, the asteroid is the largest ever discovered in our solar system.

However, it is still just about the size of Chicxulub, which helped wipe out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

And it will be the closest to us at 10pm this evening

Although there is potential for danger, experts say it will miss Earth's orbit by 2 million miles - a hair's breadth in astronomical terms.

NASA said on its website: "This 'potential' to make close Earth approaches does not mean a potentially dangerous hazardous asteroid will impact the Earth.

"It only means there is a possibility for such a danger."

Should conditions be clear, stargazers may be able to catch a glimpse of its travel past us using a telescope.

Scientists are hoping the unusually close proximity will allow them to capture and move together with a reliable 3D model.

The Space of Hell

It is also responsible for causing this week's stunning Geminids shower, which returns ever December - although scientists are not sure how

The Geminids were first observed in 1862, much more recently than other meteors such as the Perseids and Leonids that date back to Antiquity.

Because they enter Earth's atmosphere at an angle, the Geminids also have a slower closing speed than many other comets.

As they hit the air and burn up they are traveling at about 79,200mph


In comparison, the Perseids approach earth at 133,200mph and the Leonids at 162,000mph