NASA Unveils Shocking Truth About ‘City Killer’ Asteroid: Is the Moon in Danger of Impact?

The rock tour is officially off. NASA scientists have determined that the “city killer” asteroid 2024 YR4 is not a threat to Earth.

After two months of careful observation, they found the chance of an impact to be just 0.0017%. So, it will likely pass by Earth in 2032 without any danger to us for the next hundred years, according to AP News.

Paul Chodas, who leads NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies, shared, “That’s the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn’t be 100% sure.” This is good news since just a week earlier, the asteroid had a much higher risk of hitting Earth—about 1.5%.

Interestingly, the European Space Agency has calculated an even lower risk, estimating it at nearly zero, or 0.001%. This gives everyone a sigh of relief.

Just a day before this latest assessment, the odds of 2024 YR4 colliding with Earth peaked at 3.1%. It was a significant worry for scientists since it had the highest risk on NASA’s Sentry Risk Table in over a decade.

Luckily, if this asteroid were to crash into Earth, it would unleash an energy blast equal to 8 megatons of TNT—effectively 500 times the power of the bomb that devastated Hiroshima. Such an event could endanger millions of lives.

However, there’s still a potential concern for the Moon. There’s a 1.7% chance that YR4 could strike our natural satellite. This is a notable increase from earlier predictions, and without an atmosphere, the Moon wouldn’t be protected. An impact could create a crater between 1,640 and 6,500 feet wide at speeds of around 30,000 miles per hour.

Fortunately, Chodas believes the odds of that happening will likely decrease too. Next month, scientists plan to use the James Webb Space Telescope—the world’s most advanced telescope—to gather more information on YR4’s size before it moves out of view.

In short, this close encounter with the asteroid has turned into a beneficial experience for astronomers. While it’s reassuring that Earth is safe, the event has provided a valuable opportunity for research, as stated by NASA.