This asteroid won't strike Earth. Here's why NASA is still watching.-如愿以偿网

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This asteroid won't strike Earth. Here's why NASA is still watching.

时间：2025-06-14 10:34:06 来源：如愿以偿网作者：我的真朋友阅读：895次

An asteroiddiscovered late last year is 关键字3expected to be in our neck of spacein 2032.

The good news? It's not coming for Earth.

Asteroid 2024 YR4is no longer visible, but NASAsqueezed in one last glimpse of it with the James Webb Space Telescopein May before it slipped out of sight. The new set of observations has helped sharpen predictions about where the space rock is headed.

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Most of the rocky rubble left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago is too far away to pose a threat to Earth. But the slim chance of existential crisis motivates many to join the planetary neighborhood watch, keeping an eye on the ancient asteroids and cometszooming through space. After all, no one wants to end up like the dinosaurs.

The updated math has now bumped up the odds the asteroid will smack the moonon Dec. 22, 2032. That means the probability of a lunar collision has slightly increased from 3.8 percent to 4.3 percent.

SEE ALSO: A rocket will crash into the moon. It'll leave way more than a scar. Mapping the probability of Asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with the moon

This diagram illustrates the range of possible locations of Asteroid 2024 YR4 in yellow on Dec. 22, 2032. Credit: NASA / JPL Center for Near-Earth Object Studies

Asteroid 2024 YR4 captured a lot of headlines shortly after its discoverybecause it had a slim chance of hitting Earth. The object is estimated to be between 130 and 300 feet wide, large enough to be considered a "city killer." Studies of the so-called Meteor Crater outside of Flagstaff, Arizona, suggest it was created by an asteroid about 100 to 170 feet wide 50,000 years ago.

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"A similar-size impact event today could destroy a city the size of Kansas City," said David Kring, an impact cratering expert at the Lunar and Planetary Institute, in a NASA blog.

After months of tracking and refining Asteroid 2024 YR4's orbit, NASA scientists were able to rule out an Earth strike. There's no real risk to the planet in seven years or afterward, according to the agency. Now the space rock’s only potential target is the moon.

Before you lose your head, relax. It's not as scary as it sounds. The new statistics, crunched by NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, still suggest the asteroid is much more likely to miss it. Even if it were to make contact, it wouldn't cause a problem for Earth.

"In the small chance that the asteroid was to impact, it would not alter the moon's orbit," the agency said.