"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.

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.

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.

The risk of impact is likely to drop to zero as observations of Asteroid 2024 YR4 continue.

A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles.

It's actually good news that NASA spotted a sizable asteroid with a (small) chance of hitting Earth in 2032. It means our asteroid-sleuthing telescopes are working.

The 55m-wide asteroid would strike the Earth with 500 times the energy of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. But the odds of impact remain fairly low.