Dubbed 2024 YR4, the asteroid was first spotted on December 27, 2024, by the El Sauce Observatory in Chile. Based on its brightness, astronomers estimate it is between 130 and 300 feet wide.
Up until August 2024, the WISE spacecraft was one such observatory. The telescope was repurposed for asteroid and comet tracking after its original mission ended. In the next few years ...
As of February 7, NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies calculates that the nearly 300-foot-wide asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 2.3 percent chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032 ...
Although the asteroid will most likely pass by without issue, those tasked with monitoring its physical attributes and potential have shifted upward the probability of a crash since 2024 YR4 was ...
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