Explore the Latest Innovations: Hackaday Links for March 2, 2025

This week was quite a rollercoaster for asteroid 2024 YR4. At first, it seemed like it might pose a serious threat to Earth, earning the “city killer” label. But now, its risk of hitting our planet in 2032 has dropped to just a tiny fraction of a percent. Discovered in late 2024, this 55-meter asteroid first grabbed attention as a potential danger. As more data emerged, both professional and amateur astronomers kept a close eye on it. The James Webb Space Telescope even dedicated hours to studying it, gathering details about its size and shape.

Thanks to all this attention, 2024 YR4 now sits at Level 1 on the Torino Scale, which measures the collision risk of near-Earth objects. With this new information, experts expect it to drop to Level 0 by its next pass in 2028. So, if you were excited about the possibility of fiery doom in 2032, you’ll need to find another thrill to anticipate.

In another strange twist of fate, a Citibank customer nearly became a trillionaire due to a massive error that wired $81 trillion into their account. This mishap came to light recently but happened back in April. You might think such an error would raise alarms, especially since it was about 80% the size of the global economy. However, it took three people checking the transaction before it was caught and reversed. Thankfully, no one started buying countries or launching fleets of luxury spaceships, but it does highlight how often banks encounter mistakes of this magnitude—enough that they even have a “near-miss” category.

Meanwhile, space is getting increasingly busy. It’s not just Earth; even the Moon is seeing more activity. Recently, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a photo of the South Korean spacecraft Danuri speeding past at incredible speeds. The two spacecraft were about 8 kilometers apart but flying in opposite directions at 11,500 km/h when the image was taken. While the resulting photo is just a blurred streak over the lunar surface, it’s still a noteworthy achievement. In 2023, these two probes also had a close encounter, with Danuri snapping a picture of LRO from 18 kilometers away.

If you’re flying soon, here’s a tip: avoid making your Wi-Fi hotspot name anything inappropriate. On a recent American Airlines flight, a passenger set up a hotspot called “I Have a Bomb.” This led to a chaotic situation, causing the flight to be delayed by four hours while law enforcement investigated. Passengers had to deplane and go through security screening again, which disrupted many travel plans. While humor can be fun, there’s a time and a place for it, especially in public spaces like airplanes.

Lastly, check out a fascinating article by Brian Potter on why jet engines are so challenging to build. It dives deep into the history of jet propulsion, highlighting the clever engineering that has gone into making these machines work. From their early development during World War II to their modern forms, the article explains the complex problems engineers had to solve. It’s a great read for anyone interested in technology and engineering.