ASTEROID COULD HIT EARTH

The European Space Agency has revealed a 2.2% chance that an asteroid could be hitting Earth. The size of the asteroid was determined to be 40 metres by 90 metres.

Luckily, the chances are low and it should only hit us on 22 December 2032.

But, the risk assessment has increased from 1.2% to 2.2% in only a week, and astronomers expect the percentage to increase.

The asteroid, named 2024 YR4, is now under close observation so that astronomers can determine the likelihood of its potential to strike Earth.

According to a blog post shared by the Agency, “the more observations we get, the more we can localize and confirm the asteroid’s trajectory, which is most likely to turn out to be a flyby and not an impact.

“Hence, we expect the risk forecast can be steadily/stepwise reduced to zero.”

Doctor Paul Chodas at the Centre for Near Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the United States said the asteroid has a “size range comparable to that of a large building”.

He added that the size of the asteroid is currently highly uncertain. Astronomers will try to determine its size using multiple telescopes.

Image credit: CNN