Chance of 55,000mph asteroid the size of Buckingham Palace hitting Earth 'going up'

By Richard Ashmore, Senior News Reporter

An artist's content of what an asteroid coming adjacent to Earth whitethorn look similar (Image: Getty )

Scientists person warned an asteroid the size of Buckingham Palace is progressively apt to deed Earth successful the adjacent decennary - but the chances are inactive precise small.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are tracking the elephantine abstraction rock, dubbed 2024 YR, arsenic it hurtles done the cosmos astatine speeds of up to 55,000mph.

It's estimated the cosmic body measures implicit 330 metres successful diameter, making it astir the aforesaid size of the King's authoritative London royal residence.

2024 YR was archetypal detected successful December past twelvemonth erstwhile astronomers calculated it had astir a 1% accidental of hitting our planet. However, caller estimates person risen arsenic precocious arsenic 2.3%, with NASA putting the fig astatine astir 1.9%.

If the asteroid did onslaught Earth the resulting interaction would origin a akin devastation arsenic the detonation from a atomic bomb.

An artists content from the European Space Agency of the 2024 YR4 asteroid (Image: ESA )

If the asteroid did instrumentality a people towards our satellite it's thought the day of the onslaught could beryllium December 22, 2032, but it's apt the projectile would onshore successful the water oregon successful a distant portion of the world, the BBC reports.

According to Newsweek, the speeding abstraction stone ranks arsenic level 3 connected the 10-point Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which categorises the information level of asteroids with a trajectory nearing Earth, with 0 being slightest menace and 10 being apt strike.

Level 3 to 5 asteroids are categorised arsenic a yellowish menace - meaning it is "meriting attraction by astronomers" and volition beryllium a "close encounter".

An asteroid monitoring presumption successful Australia (Image: Getty )

A connection from the European Space Agency (ESA) said: "Asteroid 2024 YR4 is estimated to apt beryllium larger than 50 m and has an interaction probability higher than 1% astatine a constituent successful clip wrong the adjacent 50 years.

"It truthful meets each of the criteria indispensable to activate the 2 UN-endorsed asteroid absorption groups: the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) and the Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG).

"IAWN, chaired by NASA, is liable for coordinating the planetary radical of organisations progressive successful asteroid tracking and characterisation.

"If appropriate, IAWN would make a strategy to assistance satellite governments successful the investigation of asteroid interaction consequences and successful the readying of immoderate indispensable mitigation responses."