Scientists discover 'city-destroying' asteroid heading toward Earth and warn when it may hit

Scientists have outlined the potential chance of a recently discovered asteroid striking the Earth in the near future.

Scientists from all over the world spend their days searching space for all manner of celestial objects, which makes this discovery all the more interesting.

Late last year, on December 27, Asteroid 2024 YR4 was spotted by an automated telescope in Chile and since then, the space rock has risen to the top of impact risk lists maintained by the US and European space agencies.

The discovery has also triggered global planetary defense procedures for the first time, as there is a possibility it could collide with our planet as early as 2032.

The asteroid is 100 meters wide and could cause city-sized destruction if it was to strike, according to experts.

Current estimates put the asteroid striking the planet in 2032(Getty Stock Image)

Now, before you start running for the hills or investing all of your savings into a doomsday bunker, experts have also broken down the chance of the asteroid actually striking the planet.

The data gathered so far has the asteroid at a 1.3 percent chance of smashing into Earth on 22 December 2032. Now to put your mind at ease, it is better to think of it the other way around... there is a nearly 99 percent chance the space rock will simply pass the planet by.

Colin Snodgrass, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of Edinburgh, essentially said as much, as he reflected on the asteroid.

He said: “Most likely this one will pass by harmlessly.

“It just deserves a little more attention with telescopes until we can confirm that. The longer we follow its orbit, the more accurate our future predictions of its trajectory become.”

The asteroid is 100 meter wide and could cause city-sized destruction (Getty Stock Image)

Speaking to Space.com, survey engineer Catalina Sky and asteroid hunter David Rankin issued similar sentiments and said it was an asteroid to keep an eye on.

The pair said: “People should absolutely not worry about this yet.

“Impact probability is still very low, and the most likely outcome will be a close approaching rock that misses us.”

Rankin added that the ‘risk corridor', or the geographical location where the asteroid is most likely to hit based on current data runs from South America across the Atlantic Ocean to sub-Saharan Africa.

However, this line could change as new data becomes available and scientists learn more about the asteroid's trajectory.

Either way, I’ll be sleeping soundly until December 2032.

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