An asteroid the size of a football field has triggered the international warning system for the first time since it was set up in 2013 after telescope observations revealed it has a chance of colliding with Earth in 2032, The Guardian reported.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was observed by an automated telescope in Chile just over a month ago but has since risen to the top of impact risk lists run by the U.S. and European space agencies.
Based on measurements so far, the asteroid has a 1.3% chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032.
The asteroid ranks as a 3 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which means a close encounter that astronomers must pay attention to, because there is a 1% or greater chance of a collision in the next decade that would cause "localized destruction." The Torino scale ranges from 0, when there is no risk, to 10 when a collision is certain and poses a threat to the future of civilization as we know it.
In the unlikely event of an impact, the blast damage from this asteroid could reach as much as some 30 miles from the impact site.
Experts point out that he public needs to understand that the discovery of a potentially hazardous asteroid is due to an improved detection system and not a harbinger of doom, according to The Washington Post.
Heidi Hammel, vice president for science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, urged the public not to worry about this new asteroid.
"I have car insurance and house insurance, but I don't worry about getting asteroid insurance," she said.
Currently, there are no other asteroids with a Torino rating above 0.
The asteroid's hazard rating is the second-highest ever recorded, behind only Apophis, which in 2004 briefly rated a 4.
Apophis was first forecast to have a 2.7% probability of hitting Earth in April 2029, but further observations found that it will surely miss.
Still, Apophis will pass within 20,000 miles of the surface of Earth, less than a tenth the distance to the moon and within the orbits of some satellites.
Scientists are hoping to observe it with a robotic space probe as it passes to determine how the asteroid's gravitational interaction with Earth distorts the structure of the rock, information that could help researchers figure out ways to deflect the orbits of asteroids that are on a hazardous trajectory.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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