Or at least that's what some of the more explosive and dramatic interpretations out there would have you believe. In reality, we'll probably all continue to eat, work and sleep as usual.
According to bombastic reporting of the UK's Daily Express, an asteroid estimated to be 680 metres wide by the name of '1999 FN53' is set to brush past our little blue planet on Thursday. The term 'brush' is used loosely here as it will pass within six million miles of Earth, which is 'small' in astronomical terms, but we've seen Armageddon so we'll take our chances and say that's still pretty far away (for reference, the moon comes between 225,623 and 252,088 miles away from us).
The Express spoke to Bill Napier, a professor of astronomy at the University of Buckinghamshire, who said: "People are concerned about an impact from a very large asteroid, and the impact of something of this scale would be nothing short of global."
"It is certainly one of the biggest on the radar, and much bigger than the Tunguska asteroid which was one of the most significant in history. This is in a completely different ball park, we are talking about millions of megatons of energy, vastly more than was released in Hiroshima. It would undoubtedly lead to the deaths of around 1.5 billion people, we are looking at a mass extinction of humanity. To understand the impact of something on this scale, you would have to look to the science fiction writers, it is incomprehensible."
But as for it actually hitting us? Well let's just say we wouldn't be going and cashing out your life savings for a farewell party just yet.