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NASA Tracks Asteroid 2024 YR4: 2.3% Collision Risk

2/10/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Asteroid 2024 YR4, spotted on December 27, 2024, poses a 2.3% risk of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032. Ranging from 130 to 300 feet, it could unleash significant damage. NASA is set to employ the James Webb Space Telescope to track its path, with hopes that it will ultimately pass us by.

History

Historical Context

Asteroid 2024 YR4's potential collision with Earth echoes past concerns about near-Earth objects. In 2005, Congress mandated NASA to catalog 90% of such objects by 2020, a goal unmet due to funding and resource constraints. The establishment of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office in 2016 aimed to enhance tracking efforts, highlighting the ongoing need for vigilance against cosmic threats.

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Story summary

Asteroid 2024 YR4, spotted on December 27, 2024, poses a 2.3% risk of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032. Ranging from 130 to 300 feet, it could unleash significant damage. NASA is set to employ the James Webb Space Telescope to track its path, with hopes that it will ultimately pass us by.

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