Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a very small chance of hitting Earth, as new observations showed that it has been downgraded to "No Hazard" Level on the Torino impact scale, a tool for categorizing the impact hazard associated with near-Earth objects such as asteroids and comets.
NASA has significantly lowered the risk of near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 as an impact threat to Earth for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, there is still a very small chance for the asteroid to impact the Moon on Dec. 22, 2032, and that probability is currently 1.7%.
"Experts at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) Center for Near-Earth Object Studies were able to calculate more precise models of the asteroid’s trajectory and now have found there is no significant potential for this asteroid to impact our planet for the next century," - US Space Administraiton stated.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was first discovered on December 27, 2024. Since then, astronomers have been closely monitoring its trajectory, as initial observations indicated a roughly 1% chance of a collision with Earth on December 22, 2032.
The European Space Agency (ECA) stated that for asteroids larger than 30 metres in size, 2024 YR4 held the record for the highest impact probability reached, and the longest time spent with an impact probability greater than 1%.
Follow-up observations briefly raised the likelihood of an impact, with the probability reaching 3.1%. This led to the asteroid being considered the most dangerous space object tracked to date
"Thanks to new observations, Earth is now at the edge of our shrinking ‘uncertainty window.’ If this trend continues, the risk may soon reach 0%," - ECA has reported.
The probability that asteroid 2024 YR4 might impact Earth on 22 December 2032 has dropped from 2.8% to 1.4% to 0.16% in just a couple of days. Asteroid 2024 YR4 has an almost 99% chance of safely passing Earth.
NASA estimates that the space rock has a 0.0017% chance of hitting Earth in December 2032
"NASA will continue to observe asteroid 2024 YR4 with observatories funded by its Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will observe the asteroid in March to further gain insights about its size for scientific purposes" - US space agency stated.
Journalist and International Affairs Commentator, Tom Gross, joined AnewZ from Tel Aviv to tell us why he thinks the attack happened now and whether t...
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the United States and Israel launched "major combat operations" in Iran, prompting retaliatio...
Following the U.S.-Israel strikes, Iran has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to be held on Monday (2 March), and vo...
The international reaction to the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran came in fast and strong....
Governments across the region responded swiftly to Israel’s strikes on Iran, closing airspace, issuing travel advisories and activating contingency ...
A technical fault in the helium system of NASA’s next-generation Moon rocket was announced on Saturday, ruling out the planned March launch window for the Artemis II mission.
NASA successfully completed a critical fueling rehearsal on Thursday (19 February) for its giant moon rocket, Artemis II, after earlier hydrogen leaks disrupted preparations for the next crewed lunar mission. The launch is scheduled for 6 March, according to the latest information from NASA.
New Juno measurements show Jupiter’s equatorial and polar diameters are slightly smaller than once believed, giving scientists a clearer understanding of the gas giant’s structure.
Fresh observations by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory reveal a massive galaxy cluster forming far sooner after the Big Bang than scientists once thought possible.
Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the United States and Israel launched "major combat operations" in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 February), a spokesperson for the local fire service said.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Iran’s top diplomat said that the next round of nuclear talks is expected in less than a week after what he described as “progress in the most serious exchanges” between Tehran and Washington. The statement follows the third round of nuclear talks on Thursday (26 February) in Geneva.
South Korea will soon cease to be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not function fully, after its security-conscious government reversed a two-decade-old policy and approved the export of high-precision map data to overseas servers.
New research suggests 40,000-year-old carved objects from south-western Germany bear repeated marks arranged in organised sign sequences similar to early proto-cuneiform, although they are not regarded as a form of writing.
The chief executive of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, has called for more urgent research into the risks posed by artificial intelligence, warning that stronger safeguards are needed as systems become more advanced.
NASA successfully completed a critical fueling rehearsal on Thursday (19 February) for its giant moon rocket, Artemis II, after earlier hydrogen leaks disrupted preparations for the next crewed lunar mission. The launch is scheduled for 6 March, according to the latest information from NASA.
ByteDance will take steps to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property on its artificial intelligence (AI) video generator Seedance 2.0, the Chinese technology firm said on Monday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment