A 40m-long chunk of rock hurtling through space will pass closer to the Earth than any other near miss on record.

Scientists at Nasa calculate that Asteroid 2012 DA14 will whistle past Earth on February 15 closer than the orbit of some weather and communications satellites, speeding by at a distance of 17,000 miles (27,400km).

That would be the planet’s closest shave with an identified flying object since records began.

Asteroids and meteorites that have come closer than that have ended up colliding with the planet but this one is not thought to be a danger to either us or satellites.

Read More: http://news.sky.com/story/1048633/asteroid-to-pass-earth-in-record-near-miss

Source: Sky News