Near miss: Giant asteroid TWO MILES wide travelling at 40,000mph zooms past Earth

EARTH had a lucky escape this weekend when a huge asteroid that was heading for the planet skimmed past in what NASA has described as a 'near miss'.

The massive lump of rock - almost two miles wide and about a quarter of the size of Mount Everest - sailed past while most of Britain slept, passing a million miles closer than the space agency had predicted. 

Travelling at a staggering 40,000 miles an hour the asteroid, known as 86666 (2000 FL10), could have wiped out a small country, killing thousands, if it had hit Earth when it rushed by in the early hours of Saturday morning.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/611297/asteroid-near-miss-two-miles-Earth