At the end of 2024, astronomers detected an asteroid in the night sky. It was given the designation Y, since it was discovered in the last half of December, and R4 since it was the 117th rock to be found in the last couple of weeks of December,

Space agencies have systems in place to spot, track, and forecast the future orbits of potentially hazardous asteroids.

The chances that a space rock could hit Earth in less than a decade just went up slightly, according to NASA scientists. The asteroid 2024 YR4, which is expected to pass Earth in 2032, was recently calculated to have a 1-out-of-43 chance of striking our planet. By contrast, last week 2024 YR4 had only a 1-out-of-83 chance of striking our planet.

Although the chances of impact are slim, Bennu is still one of the most potentially hazardous known asteroids in our solar system, and we need to be prepared for what could come. A first-of-its-kind study simulated the planet-wide damage that would be caused by Bennu’s unlikely impact,

A near-Earth asteroid as wide as the Statue of Liberty is tall could strike Earth on Dec.22, 2032, alerting planetary defense groups at the United Nations.

The chances of Earth being hit by an asteroid in 2032 have roughly doubled – though we are almost certainly fine. On 22 December, 2032, the Earth will be visited by an asteroid discovered last year and named 2024 YR. The rock is up to 90 metres across.

YR4 has just above a 1% chance of crashing into Earth in 2032, which is why astronomers and space agencies are paying attention to it.