Since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA ) first discovered the asteroid, the likelihood of a large asteroid hitting the Earth and causing “localized damage” in December of 2032 has grown.
NASA issued an initial estimate in January warning that there was a 1.2 % chance that an asteroid could strike Earth in 2032, according to NBC News.
Earlier this month, NASA reported that the asteroid, labeled” 2024 YR4″, had a 2.3 % chance of hitting the Earth in December of 2032. The possibility of 2024 YR4 hitting the Earth had increased by 3.1 %, according to a report released on Tuesday by AFP.
Alongside a video graphic released on February 7, NASA Asteroid Watch stated,” While still an extremely low possibility, asteroid 2024 YR4’s impact probability with Earth has increased from about 1 % to a 2.3 % chance on Dec. 22, 2032. The impact possibility will be better known as we gain more observation of the asteroid.
According to NASA’s site, the 2024 YR4 meteor is classified as a “near-Earth meteorite” because it is “in an circle that brings it into Earth’s area of the Solar System”. The meteor has a “very little prospect of Earth effect,” according to NASA, and is estimated to be between 130 and 300 foot across. The asteroid is “large enough to cause regional damage in the doubtful event that it should affect Earth,” according to NASA.
Despite increased issues regarding the great meteor, Royal Astronomical Society Deputy Executive Director Robert Massey , told , Newsweek he is” no genuinely concerned at all” about the meteor.
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” It’s the kind of item that should concern politicians and scientists, particularly, whose task it is to record these things and develop orbits”, Massey added. ” The probabilities are very, very small and as observations get better, it’s very possible that the possibility will decline to zero, but I don’t think the public may be unduly involved”.
NASA has announced that the asteroid will continue to be observed from ground-based telescopes connected to the International Asteroid Warning Network “while the asteroid is still visible through April.” NASA also confirmed that the James Webb Space Telescope will observe the asteroid in March to “better assess the asteroid’s size.”
” As more observations of the asteroid’s orbit are obtained, its impact probability will become better known”, NASA said. As has happened with numerous other objects that have previously been listed on the NASA JPL , asteroid risk list, it is possible that 2024 YR4 will not be considered an impact risk. It is also possible that its likelihood of impact will continue to rise.
