Asteroid as wide as 886 cans of spam may hit Earth in 2032

[Rick]

Asteroid as wide as 886 cans of spam may hit Earth in 2032
Is this NEO the one? Yup, as in, a 1% chance of hitting us ... sadly

Astronomers reckon a 220-million-kilogram asteroid is going to swing by Earth in 2032 with a 1-in-100 chance of hitting us.

On Christmas Day, a NASA-operated robot telescope was taking in the night sky in Chile when it caught sight of an object that activated the space agency's Asteroid Terrestrial Last Alert System. This prompted scientists to investigate, and two days later, they figured whatever it was, it was zooming away from our home world – but on a trajectory could bring it back our way.

If it were to whack into our planet, it would be like an eight-mega-ton TNT bomb going off, about 500 times larger than the nuke dropped on Hiroshima in World War II, we're told. Gaze upon the terrifying dot in the video below, captured by a European telescope in Chile, for it is the asteroid in question. And 2024 YR4 be its name.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/31/asteroid_earth_impact/

[Dave A]

Interesting article-  wonder how they decided on cans of Ham-  suppose it could of been cans of Corned Beef.  I wonder how many tins of Baked beans !! 
Anyway if it does hit the Earth that will be a hell of a splat

[Rick]

wonder how they decided on cans of Ham

The Register, "El Reg" to at least some of its regular readers, is primary a computer rag, and I guess someone figured having the asteroid belt spam Earth would raise at least a wry grin....
 

[Rick]

James Webb Space Telescope to size up asteroid 2024 YR4 before it rocks our world

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is to be pointed at asteroid 2024 YR4 to reduce uncertainty regarding the chances of the object impacting Earth in the coming years.

The asteroid is not particularly large – the best guess is that it measures somewhere between 40 and 90 meters (130-295 feet) – and there is an approximately 98 percent chance it will safely pass the Earth on December 22, 2032, but if it impacts the planet, the consequences for the affected region could be dire.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/12/james_webb_asteroid_measuring/

[Carole]

 

[Rick]

There's a slight chance Asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit Moon in 2032
Very unlikely, but could make for a neat light show if it does

There is a chance, albeit slim, that asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit the Moon, creating a new crater and an explosion that might just be visible from Earth.

The possibility was floated by space boffins in a New Scientist article, and would leave the Moon with a crater measuring anywhere from 500 to 2,000 meters across. The Moon lacks the Earth's atmosphere, so asteroids impact the lunar surface unimpeded.

According to the discussion, this would result in "an explosion 343 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima."

Readers of a certain vintage may remember the 1970s British science-fiction television series Space 1999, in which the Moon is knocked out of orbit after nuclear waste stored on its far side explodes. The result of an impact of 2024 YR4 will not have anywhere near the same dire consequences, but might just be visible from Earth.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/17/asteroid_2024_yr4_might_hit/

[Rick]

Odds of city-killer asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth creep upward

As the risk corridor narrows for asteroid 2024 YR4, the possibility of a collision with Earth in 2032 has increased.

NASA has upped the chances to 3.1 percent, while the European Space Agency (ESA) now estimates it's 2.8 percent. This was expected as the close-approach uncertainty narrowed with further observations. The threat will be recalculated as possible trajectories are ruled out and the risk corridor shrinks.

Crucially, time is growing short. By April, the city-killing asteroid will no longer be viewable by most telescopes, making it impossible for scientists to refine the object's orbit further. It will not come back into view again until 2028.

More: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/19/2024-yr4/