#nasa #asteroid #earth #rimpactx <br />NASA says yes, an asteroid buzzing by in 2032 could hit Earth<br />An asteroid that measures up to 300 feet across could smack into Earth in 2032, and while NASA says the chances of a collision are “extremely low,” the probability has been increasing since the space rock was discovered weeks ago.<br /><br />NASA said last week that there is currently a 2.3% (or 1 in 43) chance that the asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, will hit Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. While still tiny, that probability nearly doubled from the agency’s initial estimate of 1.2% in late January.<br /><br />At that time, NASA said that “no other known large asteroids have an impact probability above 1%.”<br /><br />The agency is monitoring the asteroid’s orbit and said that the object’s “impact hazard” could be ruled out eventually. But in a blog post about the space rock, the agency said it is “also possible its impact probability will continue to rise” as more details become clear.<br /><br />NASA estimates that the asteroid measures between 130 feet and 300 feet across. In the unlikely event that it did hit Earth, the asteroid would likely “impact at a high velocity” of roughly 38,000 mph, according to the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.<br /><br />A space rock of that size would likely cause local damage, but not threaten the entire planet or humanity, as might be the case if a much larger asteroid was on a collision course with Earth.<br /><br />The asteroid 2024 YR4 was first detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System station in Chile on Dec. 27, 2024. Since then, researchers have been studying the space rock using ground-based telescopes.<br /><br />NASA said the asteroid will continue to be visible to ground-based observatories through April. After that, the space rock will be too faint to see until around June 2028.<br /><br />The agency’s James Webb Space Telescope will train its eyes on the asteroid in March to better assess its size, according to NASA.<br /><br /><br />nasa asteroid hitting earth 2032<br />earth
