Artist’s impression of an asteroid nearing the moon
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Asteroid 2024 YR4 is on a potential crash course with Earth, but there’s a very slight chance the moon could take the hit.
Based on current observations, there is a 2.1 per cent chance that the asteroid – about as long as the Leaning Tower of Pisa is tall – will crash into our planet on 22 December 2032. Although it is very likely to miss, a direct strike on a populated area would be catastrophic. But if it is in fact heading directly our way, new calculations show that there…