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There is a one-in-43 chance of a destructive asteroid hitting Earth in 2032, double the odds from a week ago.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was spotted in December travelling in a straight line away from Earth, but according to the European Space Agency it’s on target to cross our orbit on a return journey.
In April the James Webb telescope will get a better sense of its size – it’s estimated to be between 40 and 100 metres wide – and its speed.
If it’s too fast it will pass ahead of us; if too slow it will pass behind. But at certain speeds it could hit in December 2032.
YR4 hitting Earth could rival a nuclear bomb in its impact, but the prospect of a direct hit might not spell disaster.
A dummy run of Nasa’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test in 2022 successfully knocked asteroid Dimorphos off course.
