Experts are tracking asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 1.2% chance of impacting Earth in 2032. Observations continue to refine its path.

An asteroid set to swing by Earth in 2032 has small chance of smashing into our planet, but experts aren't panicking — yet.

A dive into probabilities, asteroid impact modeling, and what sort of damage an approximately 180-foot asteroid could cause on Earth.

The hunk of space rock measures somewhere between 130 and 300 feet long, but its speed is unknown. “It’s a matter of ‘does it hit early or late?’” Beatty said. Based on what astronomers do know, they estimate there is a 1.3% chance that it will hit Earth on Dec. 22, 2032.

YR4 was first discovered in December last year by a telescope in Chile. The near-Earth asteroid is as big as a football field, measuring 40 to 100 metres across.

A newly discovered asteroid has a tiny chance of smacking Earth in 2032, space agency officials said Wednesday. “We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss,” said Paul Chodas,

UN planetary defence organisations are closely monitoring an asteroid that has a tiny risk of hitting the Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) has said that it has an almost 99% chance of safely passing Earth on 22 December 2032,