Off The Record
Scientists Share Pictures Of What An Asteroid That Could Destroy Cities Looks Like And Predict Exactly Where It Could Hit
As the precise places the “city destroying” asteroid might strike have been identified, scientists have published images of what the object looks like.
Last December, NASA discovered a somewhat worrisome asteroid that they have since named 2024 YR4.
After being discovered by an automated telescope in Chile, the space rock shot to the top of the US and European space agencies’ impact risk list.
The asteroid may strike Earth on December 22, 2032, according to scientists.
It may be as large as the Statue of Liberty or Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World in Florida, according to sources, and scientist Dr. Robin George Andrews has cautioned that even safeguarding ourselves from its impact may not be enough.
He clarified that the end times might be triggered if rockets were fired at it to divert it from its course.
It’s still doubtful that it will reach home, though, with a one in 48 chance.
However, researchers are still examining the asteroid and have recently made public pictures of its appearance.
The 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope on Cerro Pachón mountain in the Chilean Andes took the picture on February 7 of this year.
According to Space.com, the asteroid was approximately 130 million miles from the sun and 37 million miles from Earth at the time.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center astronomer Bryce Bolin, who assisted on taking the photo, told the outlet: “I think 2024 YT4 is really exciting! Not just because of its fame, but also because of the scientific possibilities of closely examining such a tiny asteroid.”
“Only a few asteroids have been studied like this.”
Explaining how he got the image, he said: “We took 12 200-second long exposures in the Red band and tracked the motion of the asteroid to obtain these images.”
“The observations were difficult for three reasons. Firstly, the asteroid was faint, requiring the use of large telescopes to observe.”
This is because the 2024 YR4 was visible while the moon was 70% lit, which made it harder to locate the asteroid because of additional background light in the sky.
Second, Bolin and the team had to use Gemini South to carefully follow the asteroid, which was traveling at a speed of 0.26 arcseconds per minute.
Although NASA recently released a view of the asteroid on December 27 of last year, this is not the first time space travelers have taken a picture of it.
The asteroid will be visible throughout April, and the International Asteroid Warning Network is still tracking and monitoring it to assess its risk.
It will thereafter be ‘too faint to observe’ until June 2028, though.
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