YR is considered to be larger than the Chelyabinsk asteroid that struck Russia in 2013. Its shock wave was strong enough to injure 1,500 people.

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

Astronomers are monitoring asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a slim 1.2% chance of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032. Measuring between 40 and 100

The risk of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth seems to be creeping up as astronomers gather more data, but does that mean we should be scrambling to prepare for an impact in 2032?

Look at it this way — there's around a 98 per cent chance an asteroid up to the size of a football field won't hit the Earth in eight years. Still, there's up to a two per cent chance it will, according to NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

The threat of Asteroid 2024 YR4 has not gone away just yet. The near-Earth object was discovered in December and calculations of its orbit showed something concerning: there was a remote possibility that it was going to hit our planet.