The 2024 YR4 asteroid has a 3.1% chance of striking Earth in 2032, according to Nasa data released on Tuesday. First detected on December 27 last year, the asteroid has become one of the most threatening space rock by modern forecasting.
Despite the rising odds, there is no need to be alarmed. The global scientific community is closely monitoring the situation. Nasa has already successfully tested technologies to deflect asteroids, most notedly during its DART mission in 2022.
The James Webb Space Telescope is going to fix its gaze on the approaching asteroid next month. “I’m not panicking,” said Bruce Betts at Planetary Society, explaining that the probability is likely to edge up before rapidly dropping to zero.
Nasa’s calculations estimate a potential Earth impact date of December 22, 2032. The potential impact corridor includes some of the most populated cities on the planet, such as Mumbai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Lagos, Khartoum and Bogotá.
