Bhubaneswar, Feb. 20 -- NASA has tripled the collision odds of asteroid named 2024 YR4, a 177-foot (54-meter) space rock, to 3.1% (1 in 32 odds). First discovered by Chile's El Sauce Observatory in December 2024, the asteroid is classified as a "city-killer," meaning it could release energy equivalent to 8 megatons of TNT, over 500 times the Hiroshima atomic bomb and is on a trajectory to hit Earth in 2032.

A report from AFP, cited Bruce Betts of the Planetary Society, noting probabilities often spike before plummeting to zero as data improves. However, the asteroid's Torino Scale rating of 3/10 reflects localised destruction risk, if not a global catastrophe.

If 2024 YR4 strikes, it could flatten a major city. A New York Times simulati...