The Vera C. Rubin Observatory is nearly complete in Chile and aims to identify small asteroids near Earth. Along with upcoming space missions like NEO Surveyor and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, astronomers anticipate discovering significantly more Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). The Torino Scale, developed by Binzel, assesses the potential threat from asteroids, ranging from 0 (no threat) to 10 (catastrophic potential). Recently, the asteroid 2024 YR4 briefly reached a level 3 threat due to its proximity, emphasizing the importance of tracking these celestial bodies to ensure safety from possible impacts.
Finding more asteroids is a good thing; with time, we'll be able to rule out entirely any hazard posed by new discoveries, which are likely to be numerous.
The Torino Scale ranges from 0 to 10 based on collision potential, and helps quantify the threat of asteroids, from no impact to nearly catastrophic.
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