Huge asteroid twice the size of Big Ben set to smash into Earth's orbit this month

dailystar.co.uk:

asteroid that is believed twice the size of Big Ben is set to smash into the Earth's orbit in less than two weeks time.Given the catch name of 2008 RW, the giant space rock only comes close to earth once ever three or four years.But its latest flyby is going to be closer than ever before – and it looks set to crash into our orbit.READ MORE: NASA amazed after finding new 'mini moon' at edge of solar systemIt is set to hit our orbit on September 13 at 1.50am, and will be travelling at around 10 kilometres per second.It will be travelling at around 6.7 million kilometres from Earth, which is close enough to potentially get pulled in by the Earth's gravitational pull.It is not clear yet just where it could land if it were to hit Earth, but it will be close enough that it has been placed on NASA's watch list.The experts at The Sky explained: “The asteroid 2008 RW was opened on September 02, 2008.“This near-Earth object belongs to the Apollo group.“It makes one orbit around the Sun in 1023 days.“At this time, the asteroid moves away from the Sun at a maximum distance of 456 million kilometres and approaches it at a minimum distance of 139 million kilometres. “The distance of the asteroid 2008 RW from Earth is currently 51.63 million kilometres, equivalent to 0.35 astronomical units. “Light takes two minutes and 52 seconds to travel from the asteroid 2008 RW and arrive to us.”The exact size of the asteroid isn't clear, but it ranges from around 73 metres to a huge 164 metres.As well as being twice the size of Big Ben, it is also slightly taller than the huge Broadgate Tower in Bishopsgate, London.

While small asteroids hit the planet on a semi-regular basis, the last one the size of a small building flew over Russia in 2013.