Is ‘metropolis killer’ asteroid going to hit moon? See NASA outlook

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Don’t fret, the moon is safe from a possible “city killer” asteroid collision in half-a-dozen years, astronomers now say.

Asteroid 2024 YR4, as soon as feared to hit the moon in 2032, is now expected to safely miss the lunar floor by about 13,000 miles, in accordance with current observations from the James Webb Space Telescope shared in a March 5 NASA weblog submit. The up to date outlook comes as NASA gathers extra information concerning the lately found asteroid.

Fall 2025 predictions that the asteroid might collide with the moon prompted a proposal to nuke the asteroid, although that is not wanted.

Here’s what to find out about YR4’s probabilities of hitting the moon.

Will asteroid 2024 YR4 hit the moon in 2032?

No, asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer expected to hit the moon in 2032, in accordance with current observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The asteroid will safely go the moon, coming inside 13,200 miles of the lunar floor, in accordance with the March 5 NASA weblog submit. That’s shut by cosmic requirements, with the moon Earth’s closest neighbor at 239,000 miles away.

The observations, which have but to be printed in a peer-reviewed research, had been led by scientists on the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

In fall 2025, NASA and the European Space Agency had reported a 4% probability of the asteroid hitting the moon in 2032.

What is asteroid 2024 YR4?

Asteroid 2024 YR4 is a near-Earth asteroid found in late 2024, estimated at almost 300 toes lengthy, in accordance with the James Webb Space Telescope’s observations.

The asteroid is taken into account a “city-killing” asteroid because of its dimension, so its preliminary uncommonly excessive threat of crashing into Earth, eradicated by early 2025, triggered concern.

How far is asteroid 2024 YR4 from Earth now?

Asteroid 2024 YR4 is currently over 285 million miles away from Earth, in accordance with The Sky Live.

What is NASA?

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, is a federal authorities company based mostly in Washington, D.C., centered on outer area exploration and analysis, per its web site.

USA TODAY contributed.

Contact Jenna Prestininzi: [email protected].


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