'Potentially hazardous' asteroid set to pass close to Earth in December

An asteroid will come close to Earth on December 11 but will unlikely pose any threat to the planet.

According to NASA's asteroid tracker, the 330 meter-long rock will pass by the planet at a distance 3.9 million kilometres at a speed of 6.578 km/s.

Though classified as a ''Potentially Hazardous'', the asteroid's journey will be far away from Earth and unlikely to pose any threat to the planet. 

NASA predicts the asteroid, named 4660 Nereus, will come close to Earth on December 11.

The rock about the size of the Eiffel Tower will be an opportunity for scientists to explore, including means to defend our planet from impacts near Earth asteroids, which can be devastating.

Hazardous asteroids

The asteroid orbits the sun every 664 days though it is predicted not to come close to the Earth again until March 2, 2031 and then November 2050.

Its closest approach will not happen for another 40 years in February 2060.

NASA labels any asteroid 140 meters or larger approaching the planet as a Potentially Hazardous that can cause catastrophic damage to the Earth.

The most significant asteroid to have struck the Earth happened in 2013. That asteroid disintegrated only 20 km above the ground in Russia, causing a large number of meteorites to scatter over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk.