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Earth - Source: ONE News
Nasa is reassuring people they don't need to worry about an asteroid which will pass close to Earth tonight.
The space agency says the small space rock will pass 12,000 kilometres above Earth's surface over the southern Atlantic Ocean at between 4 to 5am and may be visible from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
The asteroid, dubbed 2011 MD, is about 10 metres long. It was discovered last week by a pair of robotic telescopes in New Mexico that scan the skies for Near Earth Asteroids.
The asteroid will miss the Earth by less than 17,700km - about 23 times closer than the Moon.
Astronomers and scientists say there is no danger of the asteroid hitting Earth, and even if it did enter the atmosphere, an asteroid this size would "mostly burn up in a brilliant fireball, possibly scattering a few meteorites."
But despite its close approach, this asteroid will not be easy. "These objects are so small (10 meters) that normally a sizeable telescope is required," Asteroid Watch scientists warned.
The asteroid is not expected to get very bright and at about 250 times dimmer than the faintest stars it won't be visible to the naked eye.
