NASA has officially dismissed all possibilities concerning the\npotential impact of asteroid 2024 YR4 on the Moon in 2032. Although last\nyear the uncertainty regarding the orbital path of this space rock\nbriefly raised a small chance of collision, latest observations from the\nJames Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirm that the asteroid will simply\npass by.<\/p>\n
Based on JWST data collected on 18 and 26 February, experts from\nNASA\u2019s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion\nLaboratory have predicted that asteroid 2024 YR4 will speed past the\nMoon\u2019s surface at a distance of 13,200 miles on 22 December 2032.<\/p>\n
This monitoring effort proved crucial given that earlier analysis of\n2024 YR4\u2019s orbital path was less precise and had shown a 4.3 per cent\nprobability of impacting the Moon.<\/p>\n
The asteroid was first discovered in late 2024 by the ATLAS system in\nChile. In early 2025, observations of the object remained highly\nuncertain, prompting astronomers to state there was a small possibility\nthe asteroid could impact Earth.<\/p>\n
The scenario of impact with Earth was relatively quickly ruled out,\nbut uncertainty regarding the potential lunar impact persisted longer.\nSince spring 2025, the asteroid\u2019s path through the solar system made it\ntoo dim to observe, until it was finally detected again last month by\nJWST\u2019s near-infrared camera.<\/p>\n
The phenomenon of preliminary projections showing potential cosmic\ncollision is not unusual in observations of near-Earth asteroids. A\nsimilar case occurred with asteroid Apophis, which caused alarm when\ndiscovered in 2004. At that time, Apophis was thought to have a small\nchance of impacting Earth in 2029 or 2036, but a series of follow-up\nobservations in 2013 ultimately eliminated that possibility. Now, the\ncase of asteroid 2024 YR4 ends with a similar conclusion, bringing\nrelief to celestial observers.<\/p>\n
Had asteroid 2024 YR4 actually impacted the Moon, the damage would\nhave been estimated as extremely massive. With a diameter of\napproximately 200 feet or equivalent to a 15-storey building, Ed Lu, a\nformer astronaut who leads the Asteroid Institute at the B612\nFoundation, stated that a rock of that size would be capable of creating\na crater approximately 1.2 miles wide on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a large amount of material that is thrown upwards which\nwould basically end up in orbit around the Moon, or circling the Moon.\nIf it hit, you would be able to see it from Earth with the naked eye. A\nfairly large explosion would throw a lot of material upwards. In fact, I\nwould wager there would be a meteor shower on Earth.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nasa-confirms-moon-and-earth-safe-from-asteroid-2024-yr4-threat-1773683593", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }