NASA has given an update on an asteroid that is on its way towards the Earth. The space experts briefly spotted what's been dubbed as a "city killer" asteroid before it disappears again until 2028.

Astronomers have been watching the 2024 YR4 asteroid closely in recent months using the James Webb Space Telescope - the most powerful telescope ever launched into space. In December 2023, the asteroid was given a 3.1% chance of hitting earth but this has since been ruled out.

However, the experts are still keen to learn everything they can about the huge rock, which could cause "severe damage" if it hit the Earth. NASA earlier estimates suggested the asteroid was around 130-300 feet across, which means it could collapse "residential structures across a city and shatter windows across larger regions."

After new observations, scientists from NASA believe the asteroid could actually be between 174 and 220 feet across. Although it is no longer set to hit the Earth in 2032, there is a 1.7% chance of it hitting the moon.

Its orbit means there is then a 1.1% chance of striking Earth just before Christmas on December 22, 2047. The asteroid is expected to disappear around mid-April.

Some estimates suggest the impact of 2024 YR4 would be equivalent to 15,000,000 tons of TNT, which would release energy 100 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, as reported by Metro. Meanwhile, a smaller asteroid would more likely "shatter windows or cause minor structural damage across a city" if it hit Earth. 

Dr David Rankin, operations engineer for the University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey, said on Bluesky there is roughly 0.3% chance of the asteroid hitting the moon. This collision would take place at 31,000 miles per hour, unleashing 343 times the size of the nuke dropped on Hiroshima.

Although it sounds devastating, scientists said this could generate a beautiful meteor shower on Earth. Gareth Collins, a professor of planetary science at Imperial College London, told New Scientist: "The impact flash of vaporised rock would be visible from Earth, even in the daytime."