A newly discovered, far-flung asteroid has sparked curiosity and a healthy side of concern among scientists who say the huge rock has the potential to make impact with Earth.CBS Texas repeated the last sentence in the description of A "city-killer" asteroid has a slim chance to crash into Earth.
Based on projections, the asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, has a little more than one per cent chance of impact with Earth on Dec. 22, 2032.
The asteroid measures between 40 and 90 metres wide (130 and 300 feet) based on estimates from its reflected light.
“An asteroid this size impacts Earth on average every few thousand years and could cause severe damage to a local region,” the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a space safety briefing.
"An asteroid this size impacts Earth on average every few thousand years and could cause severe damage to a local region," the European Space Agency said.The last impact the size of the one that could happen if Asteroid 2024 YR4 enters Earth's atmosphere in seven years was the Tunguska impact on June 30, 1908, which is the event Asteroid Day commemorates. That would be 128 years before a potential impact, not a "few thousand years," but "on average" is doing a lot of work; there is room for a lot of variation.
I close with ABC News (Australia) analyzing the situation in Asteroid with small chance of hitting Earth triggers global defence plan.
Astronomers have spied an asteroid that may be heading for Earth in 2032. While scientists say there is currently no cause for alarm and it will likely pass Earth safely, members of a space mission planning group are meeting this week to work out the next steps. Professor Jonti Horner from the University of Southern Queensland tells The World several factors would come into play, including what the asteroid is made of.Professor Horner managed to be both scary and reassuring at the same time. Odds are that we'll be O.K. Even if the asteroid impacts the atmosphere, most cases will affect relatively few people. The bad news is that if the asteroid explodes on or above a city, it could kill millions. YIKES!
Oh, and even this story couldn't avoid Elon Musk. Sigh. I was hoping to get away from events on Earth today.
*Disaster literally means "bad star." That's quite on the nose for this story.
Five to fifty megatons would actually be quite serious. Five megatons is a medium-power H-bomb. Fifty would be more like the 1961 "Tsar Bomba" superbomb test (forty megatons), which shattered windows six hundred miles from the test site, though what they're talking about here is a detonation much higher in the atmosphere. At any rate, this is a good example of the practical value of astronomy. We have time to try to divert it if need be.
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to this entry at Link round-up for 8 February 2025 and welcome to all your readers who came here from your link! Also, welcome to all my readers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Pakistan, and the rest of the planet!
DeleteI recall the Tsar Bomba was so powerful the Soviets decided it couldn't be used in war — too dangerous to the bomber crew. It also scared the Soviets into an atmospheric test ban treaty. And, yes, the risk from asteroids demonstrates the importance of astronomy and space programs.