Deadly asteroid could crash into the moon in a few years
A death-defying asteroid could crash into the moon.
2024 YR4 - the up to 300ft-wide chunk of space rock - was originally on course to crash down on Earth on December 22, 2032, but the James Webb Space Telescope ruled that this was not going to happen.
Now, according to its course, the asteroid could slam into the moon in late December 2032.
However, NASA only thinks there is a four per cent chance of this happening.
Astronomers previously predicted that 2024 YR4 - which was zooming down towards the planet at 38,000 mph - had a 2.3 per cent (one-in-43) before its original 1.2 per cent chance of crashing down on the planet on December 22, 2032.
Some even scrambled to come up with a plan to fend off the up to 300ft-wide chunk of space rock, with expert David Rankin stressing that people should not worry about it because it will start "falling at some point".
Now, scientists from the European Space Agency have confirmed the menace - which was detected on December 27, 2024 - affecting us has a 0.001 per cent chance of doing so.
Professor Richard Binzel, the creator of the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, of which 2024 YR4 has dropped from Level 3 to Level 0, said: "That's impact probability zero, folks."
Even though it is currently 27 million miles away, it has been said it will return to our orbit in 2032.
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