The $10 billion orbiting observatory will give astronomers a better sense of the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4's size and position.

The odds that asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit Earth in 2032 recently spiked from a little more than 1% to 2.3% as more observations are made.

The asteroid was first detected on December 27, 2024, and is between 130 to 300 feet wide, NASA's risk list of near-Earth objects shows. It is currently the most dangerous space object near Earth, according to NASA,

Over the next several weeks, astronomers will be looking closely at an asteroid called 2024 YR4 that could be as big as a football field as they try to determine how likely it is to strike Earth in 2032.

Scientists are tracking Asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a small chance of colliding with Earth in 2032. Earth grew an extra, never-before-seen 'radiation belt' after last year's supercharged solar storm

NASA's new observations of the asteroid, named 2024 YR4, led to a 2.3 per cent probability of hitting Earth on 22 December 2032. View on euronews