Scientists have spotted an asteroid which they estimate has a more than 2 per cent risk of hitting Earth in eight years time

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. But the chance of an impact is still quite slim. New calculations suggest there's a 2% chance the space rock 2024 YR4 will smack Earth in 2032.

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