A City Killer Asteroid Is On A Close Approach To The Moon

About every three to six months, we hear a story about some giant asteroid that has been spotted hundreds of millions of miles away that is heading toward Earth, and then we find out that there is a .005% chance that it might hit our planet. 

Some paleontologists believe that what wiped out the dinosaurs was an asteroid striking our planet. Creating a kind of “nuclear winter” causing the temperature of the earth to drop and the giant reptiles to die off. 

One of those asteroids was cited back in December of 2024 called asteroid 2024 YR4. At the time, astronomers said that it was heading toward Earth, but probably unlikely to strike our planet. But as these objects draw closer to earth, the accuracy of predictions grows more precise. 

According to msn.com, 
‘The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has taken its final look at the potentially hazardous asteroid 2024 YR4, at least until the potentially hazardous space rock darkens Earth's cosmic doorstep again in 2028. The latest observations reveal that, while Earth faces no risk of impact from the asteroid for the foreseeable future, the moon might not be so lucky.’ 

Using the JWST's Near-Infrared Camera in May, scientists now say that this big rock will probably miss the earth but has a 4.8 percent probability of striking the moon. Scientists who always work hard not to scare people are calling this rock a “city killer”. If it were to impact the earth or the moon it would have the approximate destructive force of 500 Hiroshima bombs 

If 2024 YR4 were to strike the moon, it would not be a devastating event for the satellite, but it would create a rather large crater. Some scientists are really excited about this prospect because they want to see what kind of effect that impact would have in real time. It might also give them some more insight into the structure of the moon's crust. 

If a collision of this asteroid and our moon occurs. It will be sometime in the year 2032. 

By that time, maybe we will have a way of watching it. Maybe it will wind up on YouTube.
James Webb telescope ups the odds that 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 will hit the moon in 2032
'City-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit the moon instead of us, scientists say | Live Science