NASA has issued a warning regarding a potentially catastrophic event in 2032: a deadly asteroid threatening Earth. The asteroid, estimated to measure between 130 feet and 300 feet across, poses a significant risk if it were to collide with our planet. The Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has projected that the asteroid would impact Earth at a high velocity of approximately 38,000 mph if such a scenario were to unfold.
While the possibility of impact is deemed unlikely, it is crucial to understand the potential consequences. A space rock of this size could cause localized damage upon impact, but it would not pose a global threat to humanity, in contrast to a much larger asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The asteroid in question, named 2024 YR4, was initially detected on December 27, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System station in Chile.
Since its discovery, scientists have been closely monitoring the trajectory of this celestial object using ground-based telescopes. NASA has confirmed that the asteroid will remain visible to observatories on Earth until April, after which it will become too faint to be observed until around June 2028. To further analyze the size and properties of the asteroid, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to focus its observations on the space rock in March.
