NASA described the 2016 NF3 rock as ‘"potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA)” while some publications have described the chunk of space debris as bigger than the pyramids as it flis past at 32,400km/h. The rock is said to be larger than two Airbus 380 planes placed end-to-end. Space agency NASA tracks a huge catalogue of objects that have been "nudged by the gravitational attraction of nearby planets that allow them to enter the Earth's neighbourhood". The near-Earth objects (NEOs) that NASA keeps a close eye on are the “potentially hazardous asteroids” (PHAs) that threaten a collision with Earth.

There will be three asteroids skimming past the earth in the next month - but NASA says we are safe

But NASA assured the asteroid would make its approach to earth from 4.8 million kilometres of the earth itself. NASA planetary defence officer Lindley Johnson said: "There is absolutely nothing for concern by this pass of 2016 NF23. "This object is merely designated a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) because its orbit over time brings it within 8 million kilometres of Earth's orbit, but there is nothing hazardous to Earth or even unique about this pass of the asteroid." Also expected within the next week is the 1998 SD9 asteroid, which will fly past around four times further away than the moon.

The 2016 NF23 asteroid's position on 27 August visualised by NASA

The 1998 SD9 is between 38m and 86m wide and is estimated to travel at a speed of 10.7km per second. NASA has been watching the rock since it was first discovered in 1998 — is the suggestively-named '1998 SD9'. The 1998 SD9 is expected to make a much closer pass at us from 4 lunar distances away, but no specific date has been calculated by Nasa who can only say it will pass within the next week. According to Purdue University's Impact Earth tool it would make a crater a kilometre across and 300m deep.

Skull Face Asteroid: The spooky space rock will barrel past the planet around the start of November