Latest news with #Chodas
South China Morning Post
26-02-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
‘City killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 no longer a threat to Earth, scientists say
Scientists have finally given the all-clear to Earth from a newly discovered asteroid Advertisement After two months of observations, scientists have almost fully ruled out any threat from the asteroid 2024 YR4, Nasa and the European Space Agency said Tuesday. At one point, the odds of a strike in 2032 were as high as about 3 per cent and topped the world's asteroid-risk lists. ESA has since lowered the odds to 0.001 per cent. Nasa has it down to 0.0017 per cent – meaning the asteroid will safely pass Earth in 2032 and there's no threat of impact for the next century. Paul Chodas, who heads Nasa's Centre for Near Earth Objects Studies, said there was no chance the odds would rise at this point and that an impact in 2032 has been ruled out. Advertisement 'That's the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn't be 100 per cent sure that it would happen,' he said in an email. But there was still a 1.7 per cent chance that asteroid could hit the moon on December 22, 2032, according to Nasa. Chodas expects the odds of a moon strike will also fade.
Voice of America
26-02-2025
- Science
- Voice of America
Newly discovered asteroid will bypass Earth
Earth is not in danger of being hit by an asteroid in the near future, NASA and the European Space Agency said Tuesday. The proclamations from the two agencies came after an asteroid dubbed 2024 YR4, discovered in December, had scientists speculating that it could strike Earth in December 2032. Scientists now project the asteroid will simply fly past our planet. That's a good thing, because an asteroid that big, measuring 40 to 90 meters across, could cause a lot of damage. After two months of observation, scientists have significantly reduced the odds of the asteroid hitting Earth. At one point the likelihood of a strike was as high as 3%. ESA has reduced the odds to 0.001%, while NASA has reduced its odds to 0.0027%. "That's the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn't be 100% sure that it would happen," said Paul Chodas, who heads up NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. The odds changed because the world's telescopes were able to track the asteroid, narrowing where a strike could occur and increasingly ruling out the odds of a direct hit. The asteroid is moving away from Earth and is expected to disappear from view in one or two months. "While this asteroid no longer poses a significant impact hazard to Earth, 2024 YR4 provided an invaluable opportunity" for study, NASA said in a statement. NASA cautioned, however, that there is a small chance the asteroid could hit the moon in 2032. The probability, according to NASA, of that happening currently stands at 1.7%. NASA's Chodas thinks those odds will likely dwindle, too.
Asharq Al-Awsat
25-02-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Asteroid 2024 YR4 Is No Longer a Threat to Earth, Scientists Say
Scientists have finally given the all-clear to Earth from a newly discovered asteroid. After two months of observations, scientists have almost fully ruled out any threat from the asteroid 2024 YR4, NASA and the European Space Agency said Tuesday. At one point, the odds of a strike in 2032 were as high as about 3% and topped the world's asteroid-risk lists. ESA has since lowered the odds to 0.001%. NASA had it down to 0.0027% — meaning the asteroid will safely pass Earth in 2032 and there's no threat of impact for the next century. Paul Chodas, who heads NASA's Center for Near Earth Objects Studies, said there is no chance the odds will rise at this point and that an impact in 2032 has been ruled out. "That's the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn't be 100% sure that it would happen," he said in an email. But there's still a 1.7% chance that asteroid could hit the moon on Dec. 22, 2032, according to NASA. Chodas expects the odds of a moon strike will also fade. The world's telescopes will continue to track the asteroid as it heads away from us, with the Webb Space Telescope zooming in next month to pinpoint its size. It's expected to vanish from view in another month or two. Discovered in December, the asteroid is an estimated 130 feet to 300 feet (40 meters to 90 meters) across, and swings our way every four years. "While this asteroid no longer poses a significant impact hazard to Earth, 2024 YR4 provided an invaluable opportunity" for study, NASA said in a statement.
Chicago Tribune
25-02-2025
- Science
- Chicago Tribune
Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer a threat to Earth, scientists say
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Scientists have finally given the all-clear to Earth from a newly discovered asteroid. After two months of observations, scientists have almost fully ruled out any threat from the asteroid 2024 YR4, NASA and the European Space Agency said Tuesday. At one point, the odds of a strike in 2032 were as high as about 3% and topped the world's asteroid-risk lists. ESA has since lowered the odds to 0.001%. NASA had it down to 0.0027% — meaning the asteroid will safely pass Earth in 2032 and there's no threat of impact for the next century. Paul Chodas, who heads NASA's Center for Near Earth Objects Studies, said there is no chance the odds will rise at this point and that an impact in 2032 has been ruled out. 'That's the outcome we expected all along, although we couldn't be 100% sure that it would happen,' he said in an email. But there's still a 1.7% chance that asteroid could hit the moon on Dec. 22, 2032, according to NASA. Chodas expects the odds of a moon strike will also fade. The world's telescopes will continue to track the asteroid as it heads away from us, with the Webb Space Telescope zooming in next month to pinpoint its size. It's expected to vanish from view in another month or two. Discovered in December, the asteroid is an estimated 130 feet to 300 feet (40 meters to 90 meters) across, and swings our way every four years. 'While this asteroid no longer poses a significant impact hazard to Earth, 2024 YR4 provided an invaluable opportunity' for study, NASA said in a statement. Originally Published: February 25, 2025 at 11:56 AM CST
Voice of America
22-02-2025
- Science
- Voice of America
Space Agencies Report Increased Risk of Space Rock Striking Earth in 2032
Scientists say the threat of a large space rock striking the Earth in 2032 has increased. Recent calculations suggest there is a small chance - perhaps around 1 to 3 percent - the space rock 2024 YR4 will hit Earth in 2032. This also means there is around a 97 to 99 percent chance it will safely pass our planet in that year. The odds of a strike will likely continue to go up and down as the asteroid's path around the sun is better understood. And scientists say there is a good chance the risk will drop to zero. NASA and the European Space Agency's Webb Space Telescope will observe this near-Earth asteroid in March before the object becomes impossible to see. Once that happens, scientists will have to wait until 2028 when it passes our way again. What is an asteroid? Asteroids are space rocks orbiting the sun. Asteroids are much smaller than planets. Scientists believe they are the leftovers from the solar system's formation 4.6 billion years ago. There are millions of asteroids orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter. That area is known as the main asteroid belt. The asteroids sometimes get pushed out of the belt and can end up elsewhere. How do scientists follow worrisome asteroids? A telescope in Chile discovered the asteroid 2024 YR4 in late December. It is estimated to measure between 40 and 90 meters across. NASA said observations by the Webb space telescope should provide a more exact measurement. At first, NASA and the European Space Agency put the odds of a strike at just over one percent. But later calculations suggested the odds had risen to 2 or even 3 percent. NASA described the likelihood of a strike as 'extremely low.' Until scientists have a better understanding of the asteroid's path around the sun, they warned that the odds will continue to change — and quite possibly fall to zero. 'You don't have to be worried about anything. It's a curiosity,' said Larry Denneau. He is a software engineer at the University of Hawaii working with ATLAS, a program to identify asteroids that might endanger Earth. That effort first spotted the asteroid. Denneau said, 'Don't panic. Let the process play out, and we'll have a for-sure answer.' In 2021, NASA said another possibly worrisome asteroid, Apophis, did not present a risk to Earth. NASA made the announcement after additional telescope observations ruled out any chance of it hitting Earth in 2068. Should we worry about asteroid 2024 YR4? Experts say it is too soon to worry about 2024 YR4. Paul Chodas is director of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. Chodas said in an email to the Associated Press, 'No one should be concerned that the impact probability is rising. This is the behavior our team expected.' Chodas added, 'To be clear, we expect the impact probability to drop to zero at some point.' Since the asteroid's size and orbit are uncertain, it is unclear where it might hit and what the possible effects would be should it strike Earth. ESA said, if the asteroid is smaller, the effect might be similar to the Tunguska event that flattened thousands of square kilometers of forest in Siberia in 1908. But if the asteroid is larger, close to 100 meters, the effects 'would be significantly worse.' Chodas said once the Webb telescope measures the asteroid's size, NASA can predict 'how serious an impact this asteroid could produce and how difficult a task it might be to deflect this asteroid.' NASA already has some experience moving an asteroid. The space agency's Dart spacecraft hit a harmless asteroid in 2022. This was the first planetary defense test of its kind, changing the asteroid's orbit around its larger companion asteroid. I'm John Russell. Marcia Dunn reported this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. ______________________________________________________ Words in This Story odds –n. (pl.) the likelihood that something will happen curiosity –n. a strong desire to learn more about something panic – v. to be overcome with a powerful fear probability—n. the chance that an event will occur impact –n. an event in which one object strikes or crashes into another significantly – adv. in a major way deflect –v. to cause an object to move in another direction possibly by striking it and changing its path a little companion—n. an object that is closely connected to another, usually by gravity
