NASA has identified asteroid 2024 YR4 as a potential threat, predicting a collision course with Earth on December 22, 2032. This asteroid, with a diameter of 90 meters, has a 2.1% chance of colliding and could unleash devastation equivalent to eight megatons of TNT. The impact risk corridor spans from South America to Asia, threatening densely populated regions like Chennai and Hainan Island. Upon detection in December, it rose to a significant threat level, being the only major asteroid rated three or higher on the Torino Scale alongside the infamous Apophis asteroid.
If 2024 YR4 really does hit Earth in 2032, it should fall somewhere in a narrow band stretching from northern South America across the Pacific to sub-Saharan Africa.
Currently, NASA estimates that the asteroid has a one in 48, or 2.1 per cent, chance of colliding with the planet on December 22, 2032.
2024 YR4 was first detected in December last year but has quickly shot to the top of NASA's and the European Space Agency's impact risk tables.
If it were to strike, experts suggest it could unleash a blast equal to eight megatons of TNT - more than 500 times the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
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