text: Astronomers Set Up Killer Asteroid Task Force | Fox News
  PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Astronomers are stepping up the global effort to scan the skies for "near-Earth objects": asteroids and comets on a potential collision course with the planet and big enough to pack a deadly punch.
  The International Astronomical Union said Thursday it has set up a special task force to broaden and sharpen its focus on impact threats.
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  However, Comparetti said the latest observations suggest it has only a 1-in-30,000 chance of hitting Earth, and that another initially alarming object, 2004 VD17, now has 1-in-24,000 odds.
  To determine the odds of a collision, astronomers surround a target object with a swarm of 10,000 "virtual asteroids" and map out their preliminary orbits.
  If one is found to be on a path toward Earth, it's given a 1-in-10,000 probability of impact, though — as it did in Apophis' case — fresh data can ease those odds considerably.