Earth out of danger: 'destroyer' asteroid poses no impact risk to the planet

 

According to NASA, the asteroid is between 40 and 90 meters in diameter, enough to cause a trail of destruction.NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have confirmed that asteroid 2024 YR4, nicknamed the 'destroyer', no longer poses any threat to Earth. After weeks of uncertainty, the latest calculations have reduced the probability of a collision to virtually zero, or 0.00005% to be precise, eliminating any cause for public concern.

2024 YR4, discovered in December 2024, was considered one of the most worrying asteroids in recent years, with an initial impact probability of 3.1%, the highest recorded since measurements began. However, new data allowed the trajectory to be reassessed, and the threat was ruled out.According to La Voz de Galicia , experts consider it to be “extremely unlikely and is not a cause for public attention or concern.”

Still, several ground-based and space-based telescopes will continue to monitor the asteroid to completely rule out any risk of impact, as had been initially predicted. At this time, and according to the scale established by the Turin Scale, which assesses the risk of all celestial bodies, the alert is at 0, when previously it was at 3, out of a maximum of 10.

According to NASA, the asteroid is between 40 and 90 meters in diameter, enough to cause localized destruction if it were to hit a populated area. Despite the absence of any danger to our planet, scientists will continue to monitor its orbit. There is still a small possibility that the asteroid could collide with the Moon, but the probability is only 0.8%.

2024 YR4 will remain visible until April, before disappearing from the reach of telescopes by 2028. In March 2025, the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to conduct new observations to more precisely determine its size and composition.