Can the World Relax About Killer Asteroids Now?
For a brief window, Asteroid 2024 YR4 looked like a planetary hazard in the making. At up to 90 meters (295 feet) in diameter, it was described as a potential 'city killer.' On its estimated trajectory, it could've collided with Earth as soon as 2032. According to the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, used to characterize such threats, it ranked a Level 3 out of 10 — a highly unusual designation, suggesting a 'close encounter' was plausible.
Panic is no longer in order: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has just reduced the odds of impact to 0.0017%, down from a high of 3.1%. But the uncomfortably uncertain path of this asteroid — discovered only in late December — offered a timely reminder of how vulnerable humanity remains to hidden perils whirling through space, and how much still needs to be done to protect the planet.
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