A “city killer” asteroid that was once believed to be heading straight for Earth might actually collide with the Moon, according to new data. 

Asteroid 2024 YR4 raised alarms worldwide after it was discovered last year, as its path showed a 3 percent chance of hitting Earth in December 2032. If it were to collide, estimates indicated that the impact could devastate buildings up to 80 kilometers away from the strike zone.

Recent observations of the rock have lowered the threat level to almost nothing. However, fresh data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope indicates there’s still about a 2 percent chance that the asteroid could collide with the Moon.

Sounds alarming? Let’s go into detail and understand a bit more about the ‘city killer’ asteroid.

What Is A City Killer Asteroid?

In mid-February 2025 astronomers announced that 2024 YR4—a recently discovered asteroid big enough to severely damage or even destroy a city—stood a 3.1 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032. The asteroid was dubbed as the ‘city-killer’ asteroid because the asteroid was said to have an impact on buildings up to 80 kilometers away from the strike zone.

How Big Is The City Killer Asteroid?

Infrared observations indicated that the asteroid measures between 174 feet and 220 feet in diameter — about the size of the 15-story building, according to NASA.

Where Is The City Killer Asteroid Going to Hit?

The ‘city killer’ asteroid is no longer a danger to Earth, according to scientists. However, there’s still about a 2% chance that it could collide with the moon on December 22, 2032, as reported by NASA. Astronomers have managed to catch a glimpse of this “city-killer” asteroid before it vanishes from view until 2028, according to NASA.

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Is NASA Planning to Destroy the City Killer Asteroid 2024 YR4?

NASA was reportedly preparing contingency plans to destroy an asteroid when there was a chance of the asteroid colliding with Earth in December 2032.

“No one is panicking, but it’s definitely what we’re talking about in the hallways of NASA,”  a NASA project manager at Kennedy Space Center told the New York Post.

“We know we have enough time to act, but now’s the time to start planning. You can’t half-ass this at the last minute.”

“Destroying it would be easy. It wouldn’t even take that much explosives. The trick is getting to it, and delivering the explosives precisely at the right time, at the right angle. That’s the hard part,” he added. 

Scientists Nullify Threat To Earth

Scientists say that even a 1 per cent chance of a rock this big hitting the Earth may warrant the development of deflection missions. “At this writing, a 2032 impact with the Moon has not been ruled out,” astronomer Andy Rivkin from Johns Hopkins University wrote in a new study.

“After 2025 May, 2024 YR4 will next enter JWST observing window in the first part of 2026 as a challenging target, which may be worth pursuing to determine whether a lunar impact will occur,” the study, published in the journal RNAAS, noted.

“While we are confident that 2024 YR4 will not hit the Earth in 2032, there is still great value in making these observations and analysing the results,” Dr Rivkin said.

Will ‘city killer’ asteroid hit the Moon in 2032?

Scientists are keeping a close eye on the asteroid, not just for Earth’s safety but also because the Moon might be on a collision course with it. Andrew Rivkin, an astronomer at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the report, shared with New Scientist that there’s about a 2% chance the asteroid could hit the Moon in 2032.