Sun Feb 16 08:10:00 UTC 2025: ## Asteroid 2024 YR4: Slight Rise in Odds of 2032 Earth Impact, NASA Monitoring
**Pasadena, CA** – NASA is monitoring asteroid 2024 YR4, a space rock measuring up to 300 feet across, which has a slightly increased, but still extremely low, probability of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032. The agency’s latest estimate puts the chances of a collision at 2.3%, up from an initial 1.2% calculated in late January. While this represents a near doubling of the initial probability, NASA emphasizes that the overall risk remains minimal.
Discovered in late December 2024, the asteroid is being tracked by ground-based telescopes and will be further observed by the James Webb Space Telescope in March. Observations will help refine its trajectory and size estimates. While the impact probability could decrease with further observation, NASA acknowledges it might also increase.
Should an impact occur, scientists estimate the asteroid would strike at approximately 38,000 mph, resulting in localized damage rather than a global catastrophe. NASA reassures the public that no other known large asteroids currently pose a comparable risk. The asteroid will remain observable from Earth until April, before becoming too faint to track until June 2028. The agency continues to monitor the situation closely.
First Piper 