CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Asteroid samples fetched by NASA hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world, scientists reported Wednesday. Read More

Hundred-metre wide asteroid rises to top of impact risk lists after being spotted in December by automated telescope

A 100 metre-wide asteroid has triggered global planetary defence procedures for the first time after telescope observations revealed it has a chance of colliding with Earth in 2032.

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was spotted by an automated telescope in Chile on 27 December last year but has since risen to the top of impact risk lists maintained by the US and European space agencies.

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© Photograph: Nasa/Johns Hopkins/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

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© Photograph: Nasa/Johns Hopkins/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

Researchers say there’s a 1.3 percent chance that the space rock 2024 YR4 could strike our planet — but not until December 2032.

© ESA-Science Office

Scientists studying samples that NASA collected from the asteroid Bennu found a wide assortment of organic molecules that shed light on how life arose.

© NASA