Scientists have concluded there is no threat to Earth from the recently detected YR4 asteroid, which previously had a 3 percent chance of impacting our planet this month.
ADVERTISEMENTScientists have significantly reduced the threat from an asteroid initially believed to possibly impact Earth in one of the highly populated regions in 2032.
The chances of collision with the newly discovered 2024 YR4 asteroid were as high as 3 percent, placing it at the top of the world’s asteroid risk lists.
The European Space Agency has significantly decreased the chances to 0.001 percent.
NASA has further reduced the chances to 0.0017 percent, indicating the asteroid will safely pass by Earth in 2032 with no immediate danger for the next hundred years.
Paul Chodas, the head of NASA’s Center for Near Earth Objects Studies, confirmed via the Associated Press that the odds will not increase at this time, and the possibility of an impact in 2032 has been ruled out.
“That’s the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn’t be 100% sure that it would happen,” Chodas stated.
There remains a 1.7 percent chance that the asteroid could hit the moon on December 22, 2032, according to NASA, though Chodas anticipates these odds will also diminish.
Global telescopes will continue to monitor the asteroid as it moves away, with the Webb Space Telescope aiming to determine its exact size next month, before it fades from visibility in the following months.
Discovered in December, the asteroid is estimated to be between 40 meters and 90 meters in diameter and orbits Earth every four years.
“While this asteroid no longer poses a significant impact hazard to Earth, 2024 YR4 provided an invaluable opportunity” for scientific study, NASA noted.
