By Annie Palmer For Dailymail.com
Published: 22:27 GMT, 18 February 2019 | Updated: 23:09 GMT, 18 February 2019
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A massive asteroid believed to larger than the size of Big Ben is set to fly past Earth tomorrow afternoon at a dizzying speed of 30,422 miles per hour.
The asteroid, dubbed 2013 MD8, is expected to skim past Earth at just over 3 million miles away, or about 13 times the distance between Earth and the moon, at 12:55pm (ET) on Tuesday.
With a diameter that's close to 280ft, MD8 rivals the Big Ben clock tower in its size, which stands at 320ft.
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The asteroid, dubbed 2013 MD8, is expected to skim past Earth at just over 3 million miles away, or about 13 times the distance between Earth and the moon, at 12:55pm (ET) on Tuesday
The huge space rock is expected to make a 'close approach' to Earth, but its trajectory should see it soar safely by.
NASA considers an asteroid to be 'hazardous' if they come within 4,600,000 miles of our planet.
Asteroid MD8 falls under the category of a 'near-earth object' (NEO), which NASA describes as all asteroids and comets that orbit within 30 million miles of Earth.
NASA tracks this and other near-Earth objects (NEOs) to keep track of any potential incoming threats.
However, there is little to be worried about, even with MD8 being a near-earth-object.
The massive asteroid, dubbed 2013 MD8, will soar past Earth at a dizzying speed of 30,422 miles per hour. It falls under the category established by NASA of
