An asteroid measuring up to 295 feet wide has a 2.3% chance of impacting Earth in December 2032, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The asteroid, named 2024 YR4, was first spotted on December 27, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in Chile.
While the probability of impact is low, it is the highest risk of any known asteroid currently. Scientists are actively refining the asteroid's trajectory, and the probability of impact is expected to decrease as more data is collected.
If 2024 YR4 were to impact Earth, it could cause significant regional damage. The potential impact zone extends across the eastern Pacific Ocean, northern South America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and South Asia.
NASA and international partners have been surveying the skies for decades to identify asteroids. Most large asteroids capable of causing catastrophic damage to Earth have been discovered and have been shown to not pose a threat.