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Asteroid 2024 YR4: Potential Threat to Earth and NASA’s Planetary Defense

04-02-2025

05:49 AM

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1 min read
Asteroid 2024 YR4: Potential Threat to Earth and NASA’s Planetary Defense Blog Image

What’s in Today’s article?

  • 2024 YR4 Latest News
  • Asteroid
  • Asteroid Deflection: Strategies to Prevent Potential Collisions
  • 2024 YR4
  • Potential Destruction from 2024 YR4
  • 2024 YR4 FAQs

2024 YR4 Latest News

  • NASA and the European Space Agency are monitoring asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 1.2% chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032.
  • The director of NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies stated there is a 99% chance it will miss but acknowledged it warrants attention. Further observations will refine the impact probability.

Asteroid

  • An asteroid is a small, rocky object that orbits the Sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
  • Unlike planets, asteroids are irregularly shaped and much smaller.
  • They are remnants from the early solar system, formed about 4.6 billion years ago.
  • Some asteroids cross Earth's orbit and are classified as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), which are closely monitored for potential collisions.

Frequency of Asteroid Collisions

  • Thousands of asteroids enter Earth’s atmosphere daily, but most burn up due to friction.
  • Some larger ones appear as fireballs, and small fragments may reach the surface without causing significant damage.

Impact of Large Asteroids

  • Asteroids over a kilometer wide, like the Chicxulub asteroid that caused the dinosaur extinction, strike Earth very rarely—approximately once every 260 million years.
  • The vastness of the Solar System makes such impacts unlikely.

Threat from Smaller Asteroids

  • Smaller asteroids can still cause regional damage. For instance, the Chelyabinsk meteor caused widespread destruction.
  • A 40-meter-wide asteroid could devastate an entire city, depending on its speed and angle of entry.

Asteroid Deflection: Strategies to Prevent Potential Collisions

  • Space agencies like NASA are developing planetary defense strategies to prevent catastrophic asteroid collisions with Earth.

The DART Mission

  • NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, was the first planetary defense mission.

Successful Asteroid Deflection

  • In 2022, the DART spacecraft crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, altering its shape and trajectory.
  • Though Dimorphos was not a threat to Earth, this mission demonstrated the feasibility of asteroid deflection.

2024 YR4

  • Discovery and Characteristics of 2024 YR4
    • Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered in December by a telescope in Chile.
    • It is a near-Earth asteroid measuring 40 to 100 meters, roughly the size of a football field.
  • Close Approach to Earth
    • The asteroid passed 800,000 km from Earth on Christmas Day 2023, about twice the distance of the Moon.
    • It will fade from view in the coming months and reappear in 2028.
  • Current Observations and Challenges
    • Scientists are using powerful telescopes to study 2024 YR4’s path and size before it becomes too faint by mid-April.
    • Determining its exact size is challenging because brightness depends on reflectivity, making it hard to distinguish between a large dark asteroid and a small reflective one.

Potential Destruction from 2024 YR4

  • While 2024 YR4 is not as large as the asteroid that caused the dinosaur extinction, it could cause significant localized damage if it impacts a populated area.

Destruction Potential: Torino Scale Rating

  • NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) has rated 2024 YR4 a 3 on the Torino Scale (0 to 10), indicating a moderate risk.
    • The Torino Scale is a risk assessment tool that categorizes the potential impact of asteroids on Earth. 
    • It uses a scale of 0 to 10, with higher numbers indicating a greater likelihood of impact and more severe consequences. 
  • In comparison, the Apophis asteroid was initially rated 4 but later downgraded after further observations.

Energy Release and Impact Comparison

  • If 2024 YR4 crashes into Earth, it is expected to release 8 to 10 megatons of energy.
  • By comparison, the Chelyabinsk meteor (February 2013) released 500 kilotons, injuring 1,500 people and damaging thousands of buildings.
  • 2024 YR4 is about twice its size, meaning its impact could be significantly more powerful.

2024 YR4 FAQs

Q1. Is the asteroid 2024 going to hit Earth?

Ans. Asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 1.2% chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032, though it is unlikely.

Q2. How big is the asteroid 2024 YR4?

Ans. 2024 YR4 is 40-100 meters wide, roughly the size of a football field, making it a medium-sized asteroid.

Q3. How are asteroids destroyed?

Ans. Asteroids can be deflected or destroyed using planetary defense techniques like NASA’s DART mission, which altered an asteroid's path. 

Q4. What if 2024 YR4 hit Earth?

Ans. If 2024 YR4 hits Earth, it could release 8-10 megatons of energy, causing significant localized destruction.

Q5. Can NASA destroy an asteroid?

Ans. NASA can't destroy an asteroid but can deflect it. The DART mission proved asteroid deflection is feasible for planetary defense.

Source: IE |TOI