YR4 has a roughly 2 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032, and “is large enough to cause localized damage,” NASA says.

Scientists say the threat of a newly discovered asteroid has risen slightly in the past few weeks, as the world's telescopes rush to track its course.

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.