Every line on this image is the path of a known asteroid that could hit Earth

The sorbing diagram was revealed after Slooh astronomers tracked a 1km space rock called Icarus which "brushed" past Earth this week.

Every single line of the picture is the orbit of an asteroid that could potentially strike Earth, according to Slooh astronomer Bob Berman.

And NASA admits there are many other asteroids not shown on the graphic with "close orbits" that is not yet aware of or tracking.

Eric Edelman, producer of the Slooh telescope live internet channel said: "This is a startling image. These are the potentially hazardous asteroids that surround us and we are keeping an eye on to make sure they do not hit us. This is a really amazing figure to see that many lines that we are keeping our eye on."

Mr Berman said: "Absolutely, I wish we could see it in 3D as we can't see how many of them cross our path in each dimension, but if it is in this diagram it means they can cross our path and can hit us and that is a lot of them. If a half mile object like icarus hit it would be a very band day for Earth indeed."

He also said the orbits were unpredictable, adding: "They do not have nice round orbit like our own planet, some go in then come out."

Icarus, which has been monitored by NASA since 1949, could one day hit us at around 70,000mph and has the potential to wipe out a hemisphere, according to Mr Berman.

Viewers of the Slooh telescope internet channel watched Icarus pass at a relatively safe distance of about 5million miles away on Tuesday evening.

The Slooh telescope on the Canary Islands recorded at around 10pm the "close Earth" flyby.

Viewers heard that the asteroid has got 5million miles nearer to us in the space of just 19 years.

When it last passed by in 1996, it was a much more reassuring 10million miles away.

Mr Berman said: "In 1996 it was twice as far away, almost 10 million miles away and by that metric, this is very close. It has the potential, and it means some day it could hit us. It is one of a number we have to keep our eye on."

Asked by a viewer through Twitter the potential result of a direct strike on earth, Mr Berman said it would be "catastrophic" after hitting at about 66,000 miles an hour - more than 28 times faster than the Moon's orbit speed of 2,300mph.

He said: "It could destroy an area like the east coast of America and cause tsunamis and wreck a lot of the hemisphere. It would be catastrophic. It would not be earth destroying and wipe out the human race, but it would be very serious. If a half a mile object like Icarus did hit us it would be a very bad day indeed."