Huge 'Christmas Eve asteroid' the size of a 10-story building will skim past Earth at 14,743mph on 24 December, NASA warns

This Christmas Eve, children around the world may be hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa's sleigh flying through the skies. NASA has warned that the huge 'Christmas Eve asteroid' will skim past Earth on December 24 at 14,743mph The Christmas Eve asteroid was only spotted on December 12 as NASA and the European Space Agency's planetary defence systems noticed its approach. The asteroid 2024 XN1 is as big as a ten-story building and could be up to 70 metres according to the European Space Agency's estimates At its closest point, the Christmas Eve asteroid will pass within 4.48 million miles of Earth. This is a near miss in astronomical terms but there is no risk of a collision The 'Christmas Eve' asteroid Name: 2024 XN1 Discovery date: December 12, 2024 Estimated diameter: 29-70 metres Date of next approach: December 24, 2024 Closest distance to Earth: 4.48 million miles Risk of collision: Zero Ms Lee says: 'If you’d like to compare it to a previous asteroid impact, the Tunguska Event in Russia in 1908 involved an asteroid which was a roughly similar size to this one. However, the Christmas Eve asteroid will make its closest pass in December of 2106 when it will skim past Earth at a distance of just 2.11 million miles.