NASA delivered reassuring news Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, confirming that asteroid 2024 YR poses no threat to the moon when it passes by in December 2032.
Previously, the space agency had calculated a 4.3% probability that the space rock would strike the lunar surface. However, fresh data collected by the Webb Space Telescope during February observations allowed researchers to better calculate the asteroid’s trajectory.
The updated analysis shows the asteroid will safely bypass the moon by approximately 13,200 miles on December 22, 2032.
When astronomers first spotted the 200-foot-wide asteroid in late 2024, initial concerns focused on whether it might pose a danger to Earth. Scientists eliminated any Earth collision possibilities for the next 100 years during their 2024 analysis, though the moon remained under consideration as a potential impact site until this latest assessment.
