Asteroid: Nereus will skim past Earth as experts warn it could have a devastating impact

A giant asteroid will skim past Earth’s orbit on Saturday 11th December around 2.50pm. An expert has warn it could have devastating effects and obliterate the country .

The asteroid known as Nereus has been labelled “potentially hazardous” by Nasa.

But Dr Marchis, senior astronomer at the Seti Institute and chief scientific officer at Unistellar, said it will cause devastation if it hits Earth.

Hypothetically if the asteroid hit Coventry it would wipe out most of the Midlands and cause damage as far as Leeds in the North and Southampton in the South.

Astronomer Dr Franck Marchis from the same institute said the rock is “not a threat” at the moment.

But he added: “Its orbit could be deflected by various things, such as an encounter with another asteroid or a planet like Venus. Any deviation could be an issue. It’s like if you have an evil neighbour — it’s in your interests to know where they are and what they’re doing.”

Brits will be able to see Nereus hurtling through the sky and it will be closest to Earth at around 2.50pm.