Seven years from now, in 2032, an asteroid has been discovered with a possibility of colliding with Earth of around 1%.
According to foreign media including U.S. CNN on the 1st, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that they discovered an asteroid named '2024 YR4' on the 31st (local time).
2024 YR4 was discovered on Dec. 27 last year through the ATLAS telescope in Chile. The probability of this asteroid colliding with Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, has been calculated to be 1.2%.
This means that the probability of safely passing by Earth is about 99%, but this figure is relatively high compared to the usual collision probability of 0.7% for asteroids around Earth.
The diameter of 2024 YR4 is estimated to be between 40 and 100 meters. It is currently about 45 million kilometers away from Earth and is known to potentially completely destroy several kilometers in radius upon collision with Earth.
The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) has begun tracking detailed information about 2024 YR4. This is based on the judgment that asteroids have collided with Earth once every few thousand years.
The Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) under NASA noted, "The immediate priority is to continue monitoring and reduce the uncertainty of its position in 2032."