ESA’s Planetary Defence team allays fears 100-metre-wide object could hit Earth’s moon and disrupt satellites
Fears that a 100-metre-wide asteroid could be on course to collide with the moon appear to have been misplaced, according to new observations.
Discovered in December 2024, asteroid 2024 YR4 was briefly considered the “most dangerous asteroid” in decades after scientists initially estimated it had a 3.1% chance of colliding with the Earth in 2032. Closer observations quickly ruled out a “city killer” scenario, but instead astronomers calculated there was a 4.3% chance that the moon lay in the path of impact.
