Unfortunately, there appears to be a growing list of "killer asteroids". Asteroid VD17 was discovered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology LINEAR Project on November 7, 2004. Its size of 500 meters in diameter gives this asteroid a level two on the Torino Impact Scale. Scientists say that asteroid VD17 has the potential to create extreme regional devastation if it were to hit the Earth; however, there is still time to prepare for this impact.

The estimated collision date is not until May 4th, 2012, and even with this data scientists have reached the conclusion that the chance of VD17 hitting the Earth is 1:1000. If this asteroid were to hit Earth, it would cause a damage of 10,000 megatons which is equivalent to that of a nuclear bomb.