Could an asteroid hit Earth in 2032, and what can we do?

A space rock the size of a shopping mall, named 2024 YR4, is zooming through the solar system at more than 10 kilometers per second.

In December, an ATLAS telescope in Chile spotted this cosmic visitor. Calculations show a 2 percent chance it might collide with Earth in 2032.

But before you panic, 2 percent isn't a final answer. Think of it like predicting rain eight years in advance. As scientists gather more data, the odds could change.

Right now, telescopes worldwide are locked onto its path, including China's Wide Field Survey Telescope, a collaboration between the University of Science and Technology of China and the Purple Mountain Observatory.

There are several ways to prevent such near-Earth asteroids from impacting Earth, such as launching rockets to push it off its original path or evacuating people when it is about to impact, minimizing its effects.

Experts studying asteroids at the Chinese Academy of Sciences indicate that although our current technology makes it difficult to directly intercept an asteroid, but "we can alter its trajectory by a few millimeters per second".