Asteroid 2015 BN509 larger than London’s Shard could SMASH into the Earth after soaring past last week
AN asteroid that flew past Earth last week could return with a vengeance, Nasa has warned.
The 2015 BN509 swished past Earth last week but astronomers believe it could pose a risk to humanity.
The asteroid was caught flying close range by a giant radio telescope called the Arecibo Observatory.
It is around 660ft wide by 1,310 ft long.
In comparison, The Shard - which is the tallest building in the UK - stands at 1,016 ft.
Nasa has warned that the peanut-shaped BN509 is "potentially hazardous" which means it could come very close to Earth in its future orbits.
Space rock collisions of this kind appear to be high on government officials' priority lists.
Asteroid apocalypse emergency plans were revealed in a shock announcement from White House officials shortly before former president Barack Obama left office.
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The files said the US needed improve its detection technology, so scientists can alert national defence experts about potentially dangerous “near-Earth objects”, or NEOs for short.
It will also need to build artificially intelligent space probes packed with sensors and lasers.
The rockets will be shot into the sky to intercept an asteroid and calculate their size and weight.
That data will be sent back home where defence experts can draw up the best plan of action.
Wild online rumours claimed that the 2016 WF9 was on course with Earth this month.
The large asteroid is likely to burn up on impact, Nasa has claimed.
But that didn't stop conspiracy theorists heralding the end of the world when it soars past Earth on February 25.
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