Astronomers have published a new image of a potentially dangerous asteroid 2024 YR4, made with the help of the Gemini South telescope. It may collide with the Earth on December 22, 2032.
Risk corridor
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered in late 2024 in images taken by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). Its main task is to detect potentially dangerous celestial bodies. The finding has caused great resonance, as 2024 YR4 has an albeit small, but different from zero chance of colliding with our planet. As of February 15, it was estimated at 2.2%. There is also a 0.3% chance that the asteroid could collide with the Moon.
The collision of 2024 YR4 with Earth will be comparable to the effects of the Tunguska meteorite impact. NASA estimates that the asteroid will explode in the atmosphere with the release of 8 megatons of TNT equivalent energy. It’s enough to devastate a major city. Countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sudan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador will be in the risk corridor.
What does a dangerous asteroid look like?
Not surprisingly, astronomers made a series of observations of the asteroid to determine its orbit as accurately as possible. The 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope, located on Cerro Pachón Mountain in the Chilean Andes, also participated.
According to the scientists, taking pictures of the asteroid was quite a challenge due to its rather dim nature and was observed with 70% illumination of the moon. That is, the background sky illumination was much higher than in normal conditions. This made it difficult to detect such a dim and distant object. In addition, the asteroid was moving at a speed of 0.26 arc seconds per minute, which required careful targeting of the telescope.
Despite the challenges, Gemini South managed to get the job done and photographed the asteroid. The images were taken on February 7, 2025. At that moment 2024 YR4 was at a distance of about 59.5 million km from the Earth and 209 million km from the Sun.
More images of 2024 YR4 will be taken soon with Gemini South. But as the asteroid gradually moves away from Earth, this task will become more and more difficult with each passing day. Ground-based telescopes are expected to be unable to see it anymore from around mid-March. Therefore, astronomers plan to use the James Webb Space Observatory. With its ability to capture infrared waves, it will be able to observe the asteroid through the spring of 2025.
2024 YT4 will return to Earth again in 2028. It is possible that only then astronomers will be able to finally calculate the trajectory of the asteroid and remove all concerns about it.
According to Space.com
