This Christmas Eve, children around the world may be hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh flying through the sky.
But NASA has warned that jolly Old Saint Nick won’t be the only thing whizzing overhead on December 24.
A huge ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ the size of a ten-storey building will pass by Earth at a speed of 22,000 kilometers per hour.
According to NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard, asteroid 2024 XN1 should pass harmlessly by at a distance of 7.21 million km from Earth.
Although this would be almost an accident by astronomical standards, experts say there is no chance of Christmas being ruined by a collision with this enormous space rock.
Jess Lee, an astronomer at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, told MailOnline: ‘It will be very far away, about 18 times further away from Earth than the moon, and so with this predicted path it won’t come close enough to hit Earth . .’
But with an estimated diameter of 29 to 70 meters (95-230 ft), it’s a stark reminder of how close Earth can get in a deadly encounter.
If XN1 were to hit the planet in 2024, scientists estimate it would impact with a force equivalent to 12 million tons of TNT and flatten an area of 2,000 square kilometers.
NASA has warned that the massive ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ will pass by Earth on December 24 at a speed of 22,000 kilometers per hour (stock image)
The Christmas Eve asteroid was not spotted until December 12 when NASA and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) planetary defense systems detected its approach.
After calculating its orbit, the agencies called it a “close approach,” meaning it is expected to pass within 7.5 million kilometers of Earth.
2024 XN1 will reach its closest point to Earth at 02:56 GMT on the morning of Christmas Eve.
However, based on the asteroid’s size and distance from Earth, the ESA only considers this a ‘very frequent’ approach.
The ESA has also not included 2024 XN1 on the ‘Risk List’ of objects with a less than zero chance of colliding with the planet.
This means that despite passing within arm’s reach on the scale of the solar system, there is absolutely no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth on Christmas Eve.
And while that’s good news for Earth, at this distance the asteroid won’t be visible even to an amateur astronomer using his own telescope.
But even for a relatively small asteroid, the consequences of a potential impact would be devastating.
The asteroid 2024
At its closest point, the asteroid will pass within 7.21 million kilometers of Earth on Christmas Eve. In astronomical terms this is a near miss, but there is no risk of collision
Ms Lee says: ‘If you want to compare it to a previous asteroid impact, the Tunguska event in Russia in 1908 involved an asteroid about the same size as this one.
‘It exploded above ground and destroyed 80 million trees. The energy equation estimates range from 3 to 30 megatons of TNT’
After making its festive appearance next week, 2024 XN1 won’t come close to Earth again until January 2032.
During this pass the rock gets even closer, reaching a minimum distance of 4.7 million km.
However, the Christmas Eve asteroid will make its closest pass in December 2106, when it will fly past Earth at a distance of just 3.4 million km.
2024 XN1 won’t be the only space rock to visit Earth during the Christmas season.
On December 23, a small space rock called 2013 YB has a small chance of colliding with Earth.
However, with a diameter of less than 3 meters, it is very likely that this rock will burn up in the atmosphere and produce nothing more dangerous than a particularly bright fireball.
Earth is constantly being passed by large space rocks, some of which (pictured) have the potential to collide with the planet. If an asteroid the size of 2024 XN1 were to hit Earth, it would explode with the energy of 12 million tons of TNT
Even the chance of this happening is quite small, with ESA predicting only a one in 52,356 chance of an impact.
On Christmas Day itself, an even larger asteroid called 2021 BA2 will pass remarkably close to Earth.
Based on its brightness, ESA estimates that this space rock could be between 30 and 70 meters in diameter, making it a potential ‘city killer’.
At 21:19 GMT on Christmas Day, BA2 will reach its closest point to Earth in 2021, just 2.76 million km away.
But at more than seven times the distance to the moon, space agencies predict no risk of a collision between the asteroid and the planet.
The next really big asteroid to pass Earth won’t be until January 5, 2025, when a 400-meter (1,310 ft) asteroid will pass close by.
This space rock the size of the Eiffel Tower will zoom past Earth at a speed of 49,660 miles per hour (79,920 km/hour), reaching its closest point just 3.68 million km from Earth.