Monster mile-wide asteroid to make dramatic ‘near Earth pass’ today, with another to whiz past next week

A MASSIVE two kilometre-wide asteroid has made a dramatic ‘near Earth pass’, coming within 15 million kilometres – a virtual whisker in space terms.

The colossal rock missed Earth by 15 million kilometres – a virtual whisker in space terms.

A MASSIVE two kilometre-wide asteroid has made a dramatic “near Earth pass” today.

Scientists revealed the colossal rock hurtling through space towards the planet missed by 15 million kilometres – a virtual whisker in space terms.

According to The Sun, the asteroid – named 2004 BO41, after the year it was first discovered – could wipe out life on earth if it was to make landfall.

But experts from US space agency NASA were not worried about a collision – with this asteroid anyway.

Another rock named 2016 QL44 has also been identified – and heading in our direction on “a highly uncertain orbit”.

It is smaller than 2004 BO41, at just 61 metres in length, so it would likely not cause the apocalypse.

An illustration of a large asteroid impacting Earth. An impact this large would result in the extinction of most all life on Earth. Picture: NASA

However, if it was to crash into a city it would cause the same damage as several nuclear bombs.

It is believed 2016 QL44 will also miss earth – predicted to whiz by at 60,000km/h in nine days’ time, on September 17.

But scientists are keeping a close eye on it in case of a miscalculation or a change in course.

The space rock was coded as a nine of NASA’s scale – meaning scientists are the least certain about its flight path.

In 1908, a similar sized asteroid exploded above Siberia in what has now been dubbed The Tunguska Event.

The Barringer Crater in Arizona, around 0.6 miles wide, was caused by a meteor 50,000 years ago. Picture: Istock

The impact flattened more than 80 million trees and sent a colossal, earthquake-like shockwave through Russia measuring five on the Richter scale.

And in 2013, a meteor measuring just 13 metres in length blew apart above Chelyabinsk in Russia.

A bright light lit up the sky, windows in buildings were smashed and around 1,000 people were hurt.

A spokesman told The Express: “NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small.

“In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.

“NASA has also made asteroid detection a top priority, and are developing strategies for identifying asteroids that could pose a risk to our planet.”