This asteroid may hit Earth in 2032. Don't panic—scientists have a plan.
To be clear, there is no need to hurriedly invest in a hardened bunker. This asteroid is certainly worth watching because it could devastate a city with a direct hit—even on the small side of its size estimate. But as astronomers gather more data on the future orbit of 2024 YR4, the odds of a violent rendezvous with Earth will, most likely, drop precipitously to zero.
The detection shows that the system for defending Earth from lethal space rocks works like a well-oiled global machine. Observatories all over the world contribute to finding near-Earth objects. And both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have developed automated software programs that can, with extreme precision, track every single potentially hazardous asteroid and comet found to date.
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Newsweek
17 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Bus-Sized Asteroid Approaching Earth, NASA Reports
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. NASA is monitoring a bus-sized asteroid that set to zip past the Earth at some 15,200 miles per hour. The asteroid—"2025 PY1"— will make its closest approach at just 183,000 miles from our planet, according to the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The space rock is estimated to be somewhere between 25–55 feet in diameter, according to the JPL's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). 2025 PY1 is not the only asteroid that will be in the vicinity of our planet today; NASA is also tracking a plane-sized asteroid known as "2025 PB2," which is around 99 feet in diameter, as well as a house-sized one called "2025 QC," which is about 61 feet in diameter. 2025 PB2 is due to make its closest approach at around 1.34 million miles from the Earth, while 2025 QC will only get to within 3.47 million miles from our planet. An illustration of an asteroid floating near Earth in space, with an inset stock image of a yellow school bus. An illustration of an asteroid floating near Earth in space, with an inset stock image of a yellow school bus. Getty Asteroids are small, rocky masses left over from the formation of the solar system around 4.6 billion years ago. They are found concentrated in the main asteroid belt, orbiting around the sun between the paths of Mars and Jupiter. Those asteroids with orbits that bring them within 120 million miles of the sun are calssified as near-Earth objects (NEOs). Most NEOs range in size from around 10 feet to almost 25 miles across. Back in February, CNEOS data showed that one asteroid—"2024 YR4"—had a 3.1 percent chance of impacting Earth in 2032. This was "the highest impact probability NASA has ever recorded for an object of this size or larger," the space agency noted at the time. Following more observations, NASA concluded in June that "the object poses no significant impact risk to Earth in 2032 and beyond"—but the same might not be said for the moon. "The asteroid's probability of impacting the Moon has slightly increased from 3.8 percent to 4.3 percent," the space agency has said, explaining that "in the small chance that the asteroid were to impact, it would not alter the Moon's orbit." According to NASA, "Asteroid 2024 YR4 is now too far away to observe with either space or ground-based telescopes. NASA expects to make further observations when the asteroid's orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of Earth in 2028." "The majority of near-Earth objects have orbits that don't bring them very close to Earth, and therefore pose no risk of impact," NASA notes. Potentially Hazardous Asteroids However, a small portion of them, known as potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs), do require closer observation. Measuring more than around 460 feet in size, PHAs have orbits that bring them as close as within 4.6 million miles of the Earth's orbit around the sun. Despite the number of PHAs out in our solar system, none are likely to hit Earth any time soon. "The 'potentially hazardous' designation simply means over many centuries and millennia the asteroid's orbit may evolve into one that has a chance of impacting Earth. We do not assess these long-term, many-century possibilities of impact," CNEOS manager Paul Chodas previously told Newsweek. Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about asteroids? Let us know via science@
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Earth's Continents Are Drying Out at an Unprecedented Rate, Study Warns
All over the world, fresh water is disappearing, and a new analysis reveals that much of it is entering the ocean, with drying continents now contributing more to the alarming rise in global sea levels than melting ice sheets. The research team, led by Earth system scientist Hrishikesh Chandanpurkar from FLAME University in India, says that urgent action is required to prepare for much drier times ahead, thanks to climate change and human groundwater depletion. Using more than two decades of satellite observations from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment and its follow-on mission, the researchers created a picture of how terrestrial water storage has changed since 2002, and why. Related: Our Atmosphere's Growing Thirst Is a Hidden Cause of Worsening Droughts "We find that the continents (all land excluding Greenland and Antarctica) have undergone unprecedented rates of drying and that the continental areas experiencing drying are increasing by about twice the size of the state of California each year," the authors write. Humans have majorly disrupted Earth's water cycle by emitting greenhouse gases that change our atmosphere, and diverting waterways and rainfall catchments. Although 'wet' areas have been getting wetter, and 'dry' areas have been getting drier, these shifts aren't keeping step. "Dry areas are drying at a faster rate than wet areas are wetting," the team writes. "At the same time, the area experiencing drying has increased, while the area experiencing wetting has decreased." This means terrestrial water is, on the whole, diminishing, with devastating effects worldwide. That includes freshwater sources on the surface, like lakes and rivers, and also groundwater stored in aquifers deep below Earth's surface. The majority of the human population – 75 percent of us – live in the 101 countries where fresh water is being lost at increasing rates. Where has it all gone? The ocean, mostly. Enough fresh water is being displaced from the continents that it is now contributing more to sea level rise than ice sheets. This net shift towards continental drying is driven largely by terrestrial water loss in high-latitude areas like Canada and Russia (regions we don't usually think of as 'dry'), which the authors suspect is due to the melting ice and permafrost in these regions. In continents without glaciers, 68 percent of the loss of terrestrial water supply can be attributed to human groundwater depletion. Recent and unprecedented extreme droughts in Central America and Europe have also played a part, and events like these are only expected to become more frequent and severe with the climate crisis. As our growing fossil fuel emissions alter the patterns of rainfall that we once relied on, people are turning in desperation to groundwater, which is putting further pressure on these water sources, which are not being replenished at the rate they are drained. On many continents, overuse of groundwater could be traced to dry agricultural regions that rely on this water source to irrigate crops: for instance, California's Central Valley, which produces 70 percent of the world's almonds, and cotton production near the now totally-dry Aral Sea in Central Asia. "At present, overpumping groundwater is the largest contributor to rates of terrestrial water storage decline in drying regions, significantly amplifying the impacts of increasing temperature, aridification, and extreme drought events," the authors write. "Protecting the world's groundwater supply is paramount in a warming world and on continents that we now know are drying." They hope regional, national, and international efforts to develop sustainable uses of groundwater can help preserve this precious resource for many years to come. "While efforts to slow climate change may be sputtering, there is no reason why efforts to slow rates of continental drying should do the same," the team writes. This research was published in Science Advances. Related News The Dead Sea's 'Salt Giants' Reveal Deep Secrets About Earth's Past Plastic's Impact on Health Costs $1.5 Trillion Every Year, Report Warns A Nuclear Winter Could Destroy Much of The World's Food Supply Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Marshall Space Flight Center completes hardware for Artemis II mission
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (WHNT) — Next Spring, the Artemis II mission will carry astronauts the closest they have been to the moon since the Apollo program. As launch day approaches, Marshall Space Flight Center is preparing to send off a crucial stage adapter. 'We are getting ready to go,' said Marshall Space Flight Center Materials and Processes Engineer AJ Gallemore. Scottsboro welcoming home injured police officer Marshall has wrapped up the Orion Stage Adapter. It is the final piece of hardware the Huntsville-based center will contribute to the Artemis II mission. The component is scheduled to depart North Alabama next week, making its way to Kennedy Space Center. This adapter is the piece that separates the astronauts from the rest of the rocket's propulsion systems, connecting the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage to the Orion spacecraft. The five-foot-tall structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket, and it stays with the capsule until the crew leaves low Earth orbit. 'It's quite an amazing job to see everything come together and to see it being shipped out,' said Orion Stage Adapter Deputy Lead Monique Wallace. The stage adapter was designed and manufactured in its entirety at Marshall. It is capable of carrying small payloads called CubeSats, or shoebox-sized satellites, that will play a role in research during the mission. Athens mother charged with killing infant will remain in jail, case headed to grand jury 'They're doing a lot of space weather-related science, so measuring the effects of radiation, how radiation can affect electrical components, and how it could affect human tissue,' said SLS Program Payload Integration Lead Russell Lane. The four CubeSats that will fly as a part of Artemis II were developed by Germany, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Argentina, and they should deploy about five and a half hours after launch. 'They can do really good transformative science,' Lane said. 'It's helpful if we have knowledge gaps that we need answers on that will help us as we move forward to go back to the moon and to Mars.' The team at Marshall has been working on components of the Artemis II SLS for years. 'Marshall Engineering has poured its heart and soul into this,' Wallace said. Work continues at Marshall as the team looks ahead to Artemis III. Artemis II is scheduled to launch next 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
