"An asteroid this size impacts Earth on average every few thousand years and could cause severe damage to a local region," the European Space Agency said.

Pop culture is rife with depictions of asteroids on a collision course with Earth. The idea of a celestial body heading right for us — and bringing catastrophe with it — has been used to tell stories that can be action-packed,

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

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, but a possible impact "cannot yet be entirely ruled out".

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

On Wednesday, an unprecedented memo from the International Asteroid Warning Network reached the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and from there winged across the planet to government officials.

Researchers say there’s a 1.3 percent chance that the space rock 2024 YR4 could strike our planet — but not until December 2032.

An asteroid that has a bit of a shot of making physical contact with our planet. This “near Earth asteroid” — now called 2024 YR4 — was initially discovered by a telescope in Chile in December. The asteroid is estimated to be between 130 to 330 (40 to 100 meters) feet across,