The attention of astronomers has recently shifted to a celestial body, a asteroid which, according to some forecasts, could even hit the earth in the near future. We are talking about 2024 YR4discovered on December 27, 2024 thanks to the Atlas telescopes present in Chile.
The experts are concerned that, according to the data obtained so far, could be able to impact against our planet in less than ten years. It was in fact classified as Near Earth Objectgiven that his orbit It is dangerously close to the terrestrial one. With its diameter that is around 40 and 100 meters, 2024 YR4 would be able to originate a crater of over a kilometerand this makes it right one of the asteroids to be kept under control, because it is considered at risk. A possible date for the impact would be the 22 December 2032. According to experts in the sector, this asteroid would have an 83 probability of reaching the Earth.
As the astronomers also specify, it is a still preliminary calculation. It will be necessary to carry out more and more in -depth studies on 2024 YR4 to truly understand its danger and take any measures. Already today we speak of systems for the deviation of the celestial bodies, such as the probe Dart of NASA and in the future there will be more and more reliable systems.
According to the models calculated so far, 2024 YR4 has approached the Earth on December 25, 2024, and another similar event is expected for December 17, 2028. Then, after another four years, the impact could occur. In case of collisioncould generate an energy that would exceed hundreds of times that unleashed by an atomic bomb, with consequent creation of a crater.
At the moment we know that this asteroid is part of the celestial bodies included in the Apollo category, because it is capable of crossing the terrestrial orbit. According to the latest surveys, 2024 YR4 is between our planet and Mars, at approximately 40 million kilometers away from us, directed towards the constellation of cancer.
Due to its distance and its size, it is not possible to see it with the naked eye.
Before 2024 YR4 worked was the asteroid Apophis Which, according to the first estimates, should have hit the earth in 2029. Subsequent calculations then reduced the risk to zero.