Asteroid 2024 YR4 cleared: Scientists quell collision fears
Scientists from NASA and the ESA have almost completely ruled out the threat from the asteroid 2024 YR4. Earlier concerns suggested it might collide with Earth, with the probability of such an event estimated at as high as 3 percent.
After two months of intensive research, scientists from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have almost completely ruled out the threat from the asteroid 2024 YR4. According to the AP on Tuesday, earlier estimates of the probability of a collision with Earth were at 3 percent. Currently, ESA has lowered this risk to 0.001 percent and NASA to 0.0027 percent.
According to scientists, on December 22, 2032, the asteroid will safely pass by Earth and will not pose a threat for the next hundred years. However, as reported by the American Space Agency, there is a 1.7 percent chance that the object will hit the Moon on that day, an increase from earlier estimates of 0.8 percent.
Good news: The asteroid will miss Earth
Telescopes worldwide will continue to observe the asteroid. In March, the James Webb Telescope was set to determine its size more accurately, which is currently estimated to be between 40 to 90 metres.
The asteroid was discovered in December 2024. Since then, it has been closely monitored as a potential threat to Earth.
The object 2024 YR4, whose name registers the year of its first observation, was at the top of the list of asteroids that pose a threat to our planet. It is now known that it will not come near a populated region of space for the next hundred years.
