Giant ‘city killer’ asteroid to pass between Earth and the Moon TODAY in cosmic near-miss

A GIANT ‘city killer’ asteroid is set to pass between Earth and the Moon today – keeping astronomers on the edge of their seats.

The space rock, estimated by scientists to be between 40 and 90metres in diameter will be visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

Scientists have assured the asteroid is of no threat to human lifeCredit: GIANLUCA MASI, THE VIRTUAL TELESCOPE PROJECT

Known to astronomers as 2023 DZ2, the asteroid was discovered a month ago.

Scientists say it’s rare for such a large asteroid to come so close to Earth.

Events like this only occur about once a decade, according to Nasa scientists.

The rock will come within 68,000kilometres of our planet, flying past at around 28,000 kilometres per hour.

Nasa reveals new spacesuit that astronauts will wear to the moon in two years

Scientists believe they will find alien life in next 20 years

This is around the same distance covered when travelling from London to Sydney and back – twice.

At less than half the distance from here to the moon, the asteroid will be visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

Despite its gargantuan size, astronomers have assured it is of no threat to human life.

“There is no chance of this ‘city killer’ striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations,” said Richard Moissl, the European Space Agency’s planetary defence chief.

Most read in Tech

The fly-by will instead be a key opportunity for astronomers to learn more about asteroids.

Amateur star gazers may also catch a glimpse of the asteroid, with the help of either binoculars or a small telescope.

Those who can’t spot it in the sky can watch a live web broadcast of DZ2’s approach by The Virtual Telescope Project.

The asteroid won’t be back our way again until 2026.

Initially there seemed to be a slight chance it might strike Earth when it returned, but scientists have since ruled that out.

Nasa’s bonkers mission to knock an asteroid off its course in a test-run to save humanity last year actually worked, new images revealed earlier this month.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, known as DART, saw the first-ever trial of preventing a potentially devastating asteroid collision with Earth.

This means that even if a catastrophic asteroid was going to collide with Earth, that Nasa now has a back-up plan – although it is still being perfected.