Huge asteroid 100m-wide could strike Earth as scientists launch defence plan
dailyrecord.co.ukAn asteroid said to be the size of the Statue of Liberty could hit Earth in less than 10 years, with scientists forming a global defence plan.
The 100-metre wide asteroid, referred to as 2024 YR4, was first seen by a telescope in Chile in December.Space agency officials say there is a possibility it will smash into Earth in 2032, and it now tops impact risk lists.
However, the odds of it actually striking the planet are very small, and it would not result in mass extinction, as with the asteroid that caused the end of the dinosaurs, which was up to 15km wide.The chances of a strike are just over one per cent, reports the Mirror.
Paul Chodas, director of NASA's Centre for Near Earth Object Studies, said: "We are not worried at all, because of this 99% chance it will miss.
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