This Christmas Eve, children around the world may want to catch a glimpse of Santa’s sleigh flying through the skies.
But NASA has warned that the cheerful Old Saint Nicholas will not be the only thing that will pass through our heads this December 24.
A huge ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ the size of a 10-story building will skim past Earth at 23,000 km/h.
According to NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard, asteroid 2024 XN1 should pass harmlessly within 4.48 million miles (7.21 million kilometers) of Earth.
Although this will be a near miss by astronomical standards, experts say there is no chance of Christmas being ruined by a collision with this massive space rock.
Jess Lee, an astronomer at Royal Greenwich Observatory, told MailOnline: “It will be very far away, around 18 times further from Earth than the Moon, so with this predicted trajectory it won’t get close enough to hit Earth.” . .’
But with an estimated size of 29 to 70 meters (95-230 feet) in diameter, this is a stark reminder of how close Earth can come to a deadly encounter.
If 2024
NASA has warned that the huge ‘Christmas Eve asteroid’ will pass Earth on December 24 at 14,743 mph (file image)
The Christmas Eve asteroid was not detected until December 12, when the planetary defense systems of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) noticed its approach.
After calculating its orbit, the agencies classified it as a “close approach,” meaning it is expected to pass within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of Earth.
2024 XN1 will reach its closest point to Earth at 02:56 am GMT on Christmas Eve morning.
However, based on the size of the asteroid and its distance from Earth, ESA only rates this approach as “very common.”
ESA has also not included 2024 XN1 on the ‘Risk List’ of objects with a non-zero probability of colliding with the planet.
This means that, despite passing within contact distance on the scale of the solar system, there is absolutely no chance of the Christmas Eve asteroid hitting Earth.
And while this is good news for Earth, at this distance the asteroid will not be visible even to an amateur astronomer using his own telescope.
However, even for a relatively small asteroid, the consequences of a possible impact would be devastating.
Asteroid 2024
At its closest point, the Christmas Eve asteroid will pass 7.21 million kilometers from Earth. It’s a near miss in astronomical terms, but there’s no risk of a 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 that was roughly similar in size to this one.
‘It exploded above the ground and felled 80 million trees. Energy comparison estimates range from 3 to 30 megatons of TNT.
After making its festive appearance next week, 2024 XN1 won’t approach Earth again until January 2032.
During this step the rock will get even closer, reaching a minimum distance of 4.7 million kilometers.
However, the Christmas Eve asteroid will make its closest pass in December 2106, when it will skim past Earth at a distance of just 2.11 million miles (3.4 million kilometers).
2024 XN1 won’t be the only space rock to visit Earth over the Christmas period.
On December 23, a small space rock called 2013 YB actually has little chance of crashing into Earth.
However, at less than 3 m (10 ft) in diameter, this rock is very likely to burn up in the atmosphere, producing nothing more dangerous than a particularly bright fireball.
The Earth constantly passes by large space rocks, some of which (pictured) have a chance of colliding with the planet. If an asteroid the size of 2024 XN1 hit Earth it would explode with the energy of 12 million tons of TNT.
Even the odds of that happening are quite low, with the ESA only predicting a one in 52,356 chance of an impact.
On Christmas Day itself, an even larger asteroid called 2021 BA2 will pass noticeably close to Earth.
Based on its brightness, ESA estimates that this space rock could be between 30 and 70 meters (100-230 feet) in diameter, making it a potential “city killer.”
At 21:19 pm GMT on Christmas Day, 2021 BA2 will reach its closest point to Earth, passing just 2.76 million kilometers (1.71 million miles).
But at more than seven times the distance to the Moon, space agencies do not predict any risk of collision between the asteroid and the planet.
The next truly large asteroid to pass Earth won’t be until January 5, 2025, when a 400 m (1,310 ft) asteroid will pass close to the planet.
This Eiffel Tower-sized space rock will pass Earth at 49,660 miles per hour (79,920 kmph), reaching its closest point just 2.29 million miles (3.68 million kilometers) from Earth.