Newly found asteroid has slim chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032 | FOX 7 Austin

Newly found asteroid has slim chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032

Space agency officials said Wednesday that a newly discovered asteroid has a small chance of colliding with Earth in 2032.

Scientists put the odds of a strike at slightly more than 1%.

"We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss," Paul Chodas, director of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, said. "But it deserves attention."

Scientists are keeping close watch on the space rock which is currently heading away from Earth. 

Illustration of an asteroid racing towards Earth, created on July 19, 2015. (Credit: Tobias Roetsch/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

As the asteroid’s path around the sun becomes better understood, Chodas and experts said there’s a good chance the risk to Earth could drop to zero.

Asteroid first spotted last month

What we know:

The asteroid was first spotted last month by a telescope in Chile. 

The near-Earth asteroid — designated 2024 YR4 — is estimated to be 130 to 330 feet across.

The potential impact would occur on Dec. 22, 2032, but it’s too soon to know where it might land if it did hit Earth.

EARLIER: ‘Very small asteroid’ entered Earth’s atmosphere on Tuesday

 NASA said this asteroid came closest to Earth on Christmas Day — passing within roughly 500,000 miles of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon. It was discovered two days later.

Chodas said scientists are analyzing sky surveys from 2016, when predictions show the asteroid also ventured close.

He told The Associated Press that if scientists can find the space rock in images from then, they should be able to determine whether it will hit or miss the planet.

"If we don’t find that detection, the impact probability will just move slowly as we add more observations," he said.

What's next:

The asteroid will gradually fade from view over the next few months, according to NASA and the European Space Agency. 

Until then, some of the world's most powerful telescopes will keep monitoring it to better determine its size and path. Once out of sight, it won't be visible until it passes our way again in 2028.

Very small asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere in December

The backstory:

Earth gets clobbered by an asteroid this size every few thousand years, according to ESA, with the potential for severe damage. 

That's why this one now tops ESA's asteroid risk list.

In December, a "very small asteroid" entered Earth’s atmosphere just over Eastern Siberia. Astronomers only discovered the asteroid while observing the skies this morning before it disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere. The asteroid measured between 1.6 and 4 feet, according to EarthSky.

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