Astronomers have spied an asteroid that may be heading for Earth. Here’s what we know so far

Artist's impression of an asteroid with Earth in the background. Buradaki / Shutterstock

On 27 December last year, astronomers using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered a small asteroid moving away from Earth. Follow up observations have revealed that the asteroid, 2024 YR4, is on a path that might lead to a collision with our planet on 22 December 2032.

In other words, the newly-discovered space rock poses a significant impact threat to our planet.