Scientists Are Keeping A Close Eye On A Huge Asteroid Passing Earth Today

Scientists are keeping a close eye on an asteroid which is set to hurtle close to Earth today.

The space rock, which is described as the size of a house, is set to pass just past Australia and will provide a defence of the planet's space defences.

According to Independent.ie, astrophysicists are welcoming the opportunity to try out what they could do if larger asteroids ever head straight for our planet.

Rolf Densing, who heads the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, said:

"It's damn close. The farthest satellites are 36,000km out, so this is a close miss."