A huge asteroid with the potential to wipe out Newport or Cardiff will be heading our way tonight.

Not to worry, though. It is forecast to give Abergavenny and planet Earth a narrow berth as it charts its unfathomable path through the cosmos.

The space rock, or as it’s more commonly known, 2026 JH2, is four times the size of a bus, traveling at a speed of 20,000mph and expected to hurtle by our planet at approximately 10:23 p.m.

Although it is expected to maintain a distance of 56,000 miles from Earth, in astronomical terms, that’s relatively close.

To give you an idea of just how close, the moon is 238,855 miles away.

Sadly, the chances of seeing this bad boy with the naked eye are pretty remote. Particularly on a cloudy and wet Monday in Wales.

If you’ve got a decent telescope, it’s worth a shot, but it ain’t gonna be as easy as snapping pics of the Aurora Borealis at the Keepers on a clear June evening.

Asteroid photography is an altogether different ballgame. In fact, it’s pretty impossible.

Even with a telescope, you’ll be lucky to see anything more than a little dot moving slowly, as opposed to the sort of intergalactic mass moving with the sort of intent, velocity, and dramatic flair that could trigger an extinction-level event.

When discussing the asteroid Mark Norris, from the University of Lancashire, told New Scientist, “It's the kind of thing that would ruin a city quite efficiently, if it hit.”

Fortunately for us, there is no chance of impact from the 2026 JH2 for at least the next 100 years.

The next heavy-duty asteroid that is due to sail this close to Earth is the “'God of Chaos' asteroid, 99942 Apophis, which will fly within 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of Earth on April 13, 2029.

So in answer to the initial question, 2026 JH2 won’t be visible to Abergavenny in the naked eye sense, but if you’re really hot for some space rock, you can watch the whole thing live on YouTube, courtesy of the ladies and gents of the Virtual Telescope Project.

The show starts at 8.45pm, and the flyby will be televised.

Enjoy!