NASA predicts the asteroid will close in on Earth’s location tonight (December 24) in the early evening hours. The asteroid, dubbed 2019 YU, is headed our way at speeds of more than 36,600mph (58,900km/h).

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At this rate, NASA predicts 2019 YU will approach Earth around 8.14pm GMT (3.14pm EST).

The news comes just five days after NASA’s tracking systems first spotted the rock on December 19.

Asteroid YU is a so-called Near-Earth Object or NEO, racing around the Sun in the inner confines of the solar system.

NEOs often follow paths that cross Earth’s orbit and occasionally will come close to our homeworld.

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