An asteroid capable of destroying London has successfully skimmed past the Earth.
The 150ft, 130,000 ton chunk of space rock was the nearest flyby for an object of this size since records began.
Although scientists said there was little chance of asteroid 2012 DA14 hitting our planet - if it did, it would have inflicted 1,000 times more damage than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Its closest approach, passing within 17,000 miles (27,357 kilometers), which is closer than some satellites, was at 7.25pm, GMT.
Close shave: An asteroid capable of destroying London has successfully skimmed past the Earth. This image, taken in Australia, shows the huge piece of space rock at it nears Earth
Frightening: The 150ft, 130,000 ton chunk of space rock was the nearest flyby for an object of this size since records began
Huge: This image shows how scientists think the Asteroid looks
The flyby occurred just hours after a much smaller meteor exploded above Russia's Ural Mountains.
Astronomers say the two events were coincidental, and the objects were traveling in opposite directions.
Astronomers say the two events were coincidental, and the objects were traveling in opposite directions.
The asteroid delighted astronomers in Australia and elsewhere who watched it zip harmlessly through a clear night sky.
'It's on its way out,' reported Paul Chodas of NASA.
The asteroid was too small to see with the naked eye even at its closest approach over the Indian Ocean near Sumatra.
The best viewing locations, with binoculars and telescopes, were in Asia, Australia and eastern Europe. Even there, all anyone could see was a pinpoint of light as the asteroid buzzed by at 17,400 mph (28,000 kph).
As asteroids go, this one was relatively small. The one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was 6 miles across.
Close: This NASA graphic shows the trajectory of the asteroid. The green line shows the moment it reached its closest point to Earth, at about 7.25pm UK time
Dave Herald, an amateur astronomer in Murrumbateman, Australia, captured the asteroid - seen here as the black line as it moves across the sky/ The three minute exposure shows the fast movement of Asteroid 2012 DA14 seven hours before closest approach. At its closest approach, the object will be moving so fast as to cover this distance in approximately 15 seconds.
But this rock could still do immense damage if it ever struck given its 143,000-ton heft, releasing the energy equivalent of 2.4 million tons of TNT and wiping out 750 square miles.
By comparison, NASA estimated that the meteor that exploded over Russia was much smaller - about 49 feet (15 meters) wide and 7,000 tons before it hit the atmosphere, or one-third the size of the passing asteroid.
Speaking about the back-to-back events, Jim Green, NASA's director of planetary science, said: 'This is indeed very rare and it is historic.
'These fireballs happen about once a day or so, but we just don't see them because many of them fall over the ocean or in remote areas. This one was an exception.'
The asteroid was invisible to astronomers in the United States at the time of its closest approach on the opposite of the world.
But in Australia, astronomers used binoculars and telescopes to watch the point of light speed across the clear night sky.
The asteroid cut through the orbit of some satellites used for weather forecasting and for satellite phones and television.
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