NASA Ups Its Odds of Massive Asteroid Hitting Earth

The odds are climbing higher than ever that a "city-killer" asteroid will hit Earth in 2032, according to NASA.

According to New Scientist Tuesday, the odds that the football-field-sized asteroid, dubbed "YR4 2024" after its discovery in December, is heading for a collision with Earth in 7 years is now 1-in-38, or 2.6%.

When the asteroid was first discovered, the odds of a strike were 1-in-83, but then has kept increasing to 1-in-67; 1-in-53, 1-in-43, and now the current figure.

Astronomers have been calculating the likelihood of the asteroid hitting Earth with greater precision as they gather more data. It is estimated as being anywhere from 131 feet to 295 feet wide, with the potential of releasing the energy equivalent to almost 8 megatons of TNT, or 500 times the power of the atomic bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, if it and the Earth collide.

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