NASA warns of new dangerous asteroid: Does it threaten Earth
NASA has discovered a new asteroid that might threaten the Earth (photo: Getty Images)
In December 2024, the American agency NASA discovered a new asteroid, which was immediately included in the list of objects under special observation. Experts are concerned not only about the size of the asteroid but also about its flight path, reports IFL Science.
The new asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered in December 2024 and immediately caused concern among the scientific community. The size of this giant is impressive - its diameter is over 90 meters.
This space object was the first in a long time to receive a rating on the Torino scale, which assesses the risks from asteroids - now it is at level 3, which indicates possible local consequences in the event of an impact.
Although there is still quite a bit of time before it approaches the Earth, scientists are concerned because the probability of a collision is more than 1%. NASA estimates that this asteroid may collide with the Earth on December 22, 2032.
Although scientists emphasize that the likelihood of such a scenario is low, it is still worth keeping a close eye on this asteroid, as it exceeds the usual risk indicators for most asteroids.
It is worth recalling that the Chelyabinsk meteorite that exploded over the Earth in 2013 was only 20 meters long. However, the explosion of this space rock caused serious damage to more than a thousand buildings and injured more than 1,500 people.
If 2024 YR4 explodes over the Earth, the potential impact could be much greater than that of the Chelyabinsk meteorite.
Scientists are now closely monitoring the trajectory of the new asteroid and note that current calculations may change over time. The difficulty now lies in the fact that this asteroid has a very low brightness, which makes it hardly noticeable.
Experts are also assessing possible scenarios for protecting the Earth if the risk of a collision is high.
Earlier, we wrote about 5 asteroids that could crash into the Earth in the future.
