On an earlier occasion, the probability of the asteroid colliding with Earth in 2032 was as high as 3.1 percent.
ESA has now lowered the probability to 0.001 percent and NASA to 0.0027 percent – which means that the asteroid will pass by Earth in 2032 and that there is no threat of impact during the next century.
"This is the result we expected all along, even though we couldn't be 100 percent sure it would happen," says Paul Chodas at NASA's department that studies objects passing close to Earth.
However, the probability is still 1.7 percent that the asteroid will hit the Moon on December 22, 2032, according to NASA. But Chodas expects the probability of it happening to also decrease.
The asteroid, estimated to be 40 to 100 meters wide, was first discovered on December 27 last year.
