Space rock looms near

A MONSTER asteroid as big as New South Wales is cannoning past Earth so close it can be seen by the naked eye.

But don’t worry. It won’t bite. NASA has calculated the space rock’s orbit carefully.

Despite being visible, it’s actually 170 million kilometres away. And the track it follows is never likely to cross that of our own planet.

But the ominous yellow-glowing orb can be seen passing through our skies both because of its size and the stuff it is made of. Named 4 Vesta, it’s more reflective than our moon.

It will be visible until July 17.