Asteroid 2024 YR4 could take the earth in 7 years, take measures

Asteroid 2024 YR4 could take the earth in 7 years, take measures

recently the asteroid 2024 yr4 3.1% has to meet the earth in 2032, so nasa and the European space organization (ESA) . Even if the opportunities for an impact are low, astronomers are pursuing the asteroids exactly to collect further information - a process that could soon be able to involve the most powerful observatory.

Information about the Asteroid 2024 YR4

over 2024 YR4 has so far been little known. The asteroid is estimated at a width of 40 to 90 meters (131 to 295 feet), which is "comparable to the size of a large building", says Dr. Paul Chodas, head of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from NASA in Pasadena, California.

risks from asteroid strikes

The size of 2024 yr4 is not compared to the "planet killer" seasant, which hit the earth 66 million years ago and for extermination of the dinosaurs . This asteroid had a diameter of about 10 kilometers and was the last large asteroid that influenced the earth. planetenkiller-asteroids are objects with a diameter of at least 1 Kilometer and could be devastating Have an impact on life.

the need for observation

Smaller asteroids can, however, cause regional damage if they are on the collision course with the earth. It is therefore of crucial importance to collect comprehensive information about 2024 YR4 as soon as possible.

A more precise data, such as the refinement of the orbit of the asteroid, could reduce the likelihood of direct impact to zero. However, astronomers only have a limited time to observe the asteroid before he disappears from sight in April. They plan to align the powerful James-Webb world dream telescope in the direction of 2024 YR4 in order to determine the size and path of the asteroid.

observations and discoveries

The Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (Atlas) in Rio Hurtado, Chile, discovered YR4 for the first time on December 27th. This telescope is one of the many programs for asteroid discovery financed by NASA to search for the sky for near-earth asteroids, as Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer at JPL and CNEOS, explained in an email.

Since January, astronomers such as the Magdalena Ridge Observatory in New Mexico, the Danish telescope and the very large telescope in Chile to pursue the asteroid, which currently moves more than 48 million kilometers from the earth

predictions and future observations

The James Webb telescope will be able to observe 2024 YR4, even if the asteroid exceeds the visibility for floor-based telescopes and will provide data to the position of the asteroid. After the first observations in March, a second observation campaign is planned for May. The scientists will use this data to provide and analyze the final measurements of the asteroid orbit of the asteroid.

evaluation of dangers

The understanding of the exact size of the asteroid can help astronomers appreciate the risks if 2024 YR4 is identified as the future collision carrier.

"If it turns out that the asteroid is at the top of its estimated size, the impact could cause damage up to 50 kilometers from the starting point," said Chodas. "But this is only in the unlikely case that it will open at all. Potential for damage results from the enormously high speed (about 17 kilometers per second), with which the asteroid would penetrate the atmosphere."

Every year around 3000 new -near objects are discovered, but the identification of asteroids in the size area of 2024 YR4 is more difficult due to their dark and minor nature. It is estimated that there are around 600,000 rocky objects of similar size, but only about 12,000 were found, such as the ESA determined.

“Smaller asteroids constantly hit the earth, burn out in the atmosphere as fire balls, but do little damage to the ground," said Larry Denneau, astronomer at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii. “Larger asteroids can cause much greater damage, but the earth hit the earth much less. There are still many large objects that we have not found so far; therefore we monitors continuously the entire sky to be possible threats one step ahead.”