On 27 December last year, astronomers using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered a small asteroid moving away from Earth. Follow-up observations have revealed that the asteroid, 2024 YR4, is on a path that might lead to a collision with our planet on 22 December 2032.

On Wednesday, an unprecedented memo from the International Asteroid Warning Network reached the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and from there winged across the planet to government officials.

YR4, which was recently spotted in the cosmos with a non-zero chance of hitting Earth in the coming years, may have caused some alarm.