NASA states that asteroids typically measure between 130 and 300 feet in diameter. In the unlikely event of an impact on Earth, the asteroid could travel at a high speed of about 38,000 miles per hour, as reported by the Center for Earth Object Studies at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Space rocks of this size have the potential to cause localized damage, but they do not pose a threat to the planet or humanity as a whole.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was initially spotted on December 27, 2024 by the Asteroid Ground Impact Tra Store Alt System Station located in Chile. Since then, scientists have been observing the asteroid using ground-based telescopes.
NASA has revealed that the asteroid will remain visible to ground-based observatories until April, after which it will become too faint to be seen until approximately June 2028.
The James Webb Space Telescope, operated by NASA, is set to observe the asteroid in March in order to obtain a more accurate assessment of its size.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
