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Researchers are in turmoil: the asteroid “2024 YR4” could hit the Earth on December 22, 2032. The consequences would be catastrophic.
The 60-metre asteroid is still 43 million kilometers away from Earth – according to current calculations, it would be possible for this celestial body to come within 2,000 kilometers of Earth in seven years’ time, on 22 December 2032.
With a probability of 1:83, the object could even collide with the Earth – a rather unpleasant Christmas present. “1:83 is one of the highest probabilities for an impact of a chunk this big than ever before,” says David Rankin, engineer at Catalina Sky Survey and asteroid hunter.
A direct impact of “2024 YR4” on our planet could trigger a powerful explosion in the atmosphere (a so-called “airburst”) or cause a gigantic impact crater on impact with the Earth.
The “risk corridor” for an impact currently runs from South America across the Atlantic to sub-Saharan Africa, according to Rankin.
The asteroid was only discovered by NASA’s “Atlas” sky survey on December 25, 2024, meaning that the orbit of “2024 YR4” has so far only been determined very imprecisely. Therefore, the statements are still subject to great uncertainty.
According to data from the Minor Planet Center, “2024 YR4” orbits the Sun once every four years on a highly elliptical orbit that intersects the Earth’s orbit near the Sun and extends far into the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter far from the Sun.
- source: heute.at/picture: pixabay.com
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