Asteroid 2024 YR4, a 100-metre-wide space rock detected on December 27, 2023, has raised alarms due to a 1.3% chance of collision with Earth on December 22, 2032. It currently poses a risk classified as three on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, indicating a notable but non-imminent concern. While astronomers believe it will likely pass without incident, they stress the importance of monitoring to refine trajectory predictions. Experts advocate for enhanced surveillance of near-Earth objects to improve detection and confidence in predictive modeling of potential threats.
Most likely this one will pass by harmlessly, said Colin Snodgrass, a professor of planetary astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.
The Torino scale ranges from zero, when there is no risk, to 10 when a collision is certain and poses a threat to the future of civilization as we know it.
...an increase in monitoring of near Earth objects will make detections like asteroid 2024 YR4 much more common.
At this stage, the best thing to do is to continue tracking the asteroid for as long as possible so that we can predict its trajectory with more confidence.
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