Asteroid 2024 YR4: Experts analyze 2% Earth impact risk in 2032

Astronomers are closely monitoring an asteroid, named 2024 YR4, which has a small chance of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032, CBS News has reported.

With an estimated diameter of 40 to 90 meters, the asteroid could cause severe destruction if it were to impact land. However, experts currently assess the likelihood of a collision at around 2%, meaning there is still a 98% chance it will miss.

Richard Moissl, head of the European Space Agency's planetary defense office, emphasized that while the risk is low, scientists are taking it seriously. “This is only the second time that impact prediction systems have rated any asteroid with an impact probability of more than 1%,” he told CBS News. The last such case was in 2004 with the asteroid Apophis, which was later determined to pose no threat.