At the end of 2024, a NASA-funded telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first spotted 2024 YR4 and a month later scientists concluded there was a more than 1% chance the asteroid would crash into Earth in December 2032.
YR4's impact chance is now 0.002% and has been downgraded to Torino Scale Level 0, posing no threat to Earth, after recent observations.
New data shrank the odds that this asteroid will hit Earth, but astronomers will continue to study it. Here’s what you need to know.
Astronomers are keeping a close watch on asteroid 2024 YR4. This asteroid has a small probability of impacting the Earth in December of 2032.
The asteroid 2024 YR4 probably won’t come nearly as close to Earth anytime soon as the space rock in this artist’s illustration. But astronomers can’t yet rule out a potentially catastrophic encounter projected for December 2032.