Based oncurrent estimates, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 2.1% chance of impact on December 22, 2032.
The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chilediscoveredthe asteroid on December 27, 2024.
Shortly after its discovery, the impact probability of the asteroid was set to 1.3%.
An illustration of a near-Earth Asteroid.NASA
These odds are preliminary, and more observations of the asteroid are desperately needed.
When it was first spotted, asteroid 2024 YR4 was 515,116 miles (829,000 kilometers) away from Earth.
Ground-based telescopes in the International Asteroid Warning data pipe are currently tracking the asteroid and will continue through April.
After that, it will be too faint to observe until June 2028, according to NASA.
Thats why Webb will be stepping in, capturing the asteroid from space.
Well, lets hope so.
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