Astronomers Discovered a Huge Asteroid
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered on December 25, 2024 and is currently about 40 million km away from us, but in 7 years there is a high probability that this rock could crash into Earth.
The approach of 2024 YR4 to Earth is predicted for December 22, 2032. On this day, the object will approach the planet at a distance of 106,200 km – this is more than three times closer than the distance to the Moon. The error allowed in the calculations is such that the asteroid has a certain chance of colliding with the planet. At the moment, the asteroid is moving away from Earth, and it is not possible to clarify its size and composition. The estimate is made based on the brightness of the object and may be erroneous. Asteroid 2024 YR4 can be both larger and smaller than 60 meters. It will be possible to determine the characteristics of the object more accurately in 2028, when it approaches Earth at a distance of 8 million km. In this case, it will be possible to use radars and determine the composition and exact size of 2024 YR4.
Amateur astronomer Tony Dunn shared a simulation of the approach of asteroid 2024 YT4 to Earth on the social network X.
