City-Killer Asteroid Incoming: Humanity’s Biggest Challenge Yet

► Subscribe: https://goo.gl/r5jd1F On December 27, 2024, a robotic telescope system in Chile that scans for space objects that pose a threat to Earth, sent out a danger alert. It detected an object at a distance of 515,000 miles (830,000 km) from Earth, an asteroid whose trajectory indicated a serious risk of collision with our planet. Astronomers named it 2024 YR4, and their subsequent calculations were shocking. They indicated that the probability of this asteroid colliding with Earth was the highest ever recorded. No other known space object had ever had such a high chance of collision with our planet. Further astronomical studies allowed us to estimate the object’s size: its diameter was measured at between 174 and 220 feet (53-67 m), roughly the height of a 15-story building. And while those dimensions might seem modest for a celestial body, in reality they pose a colossal threat to Earth. Researchers from the University of Western Ontario determined that the force of an impact from an asteroid of this size could be comparable to the explosion of one of the most powerful thermonuclear bombs in existence. That would be more than enough to wipe any megalopolis off the face of the Earth. It is no surprise that the object soon received a second, ominous nickname - “The City-Killer Rock.” After two more months of observation and refined calculations, astronomers came to an unexpected conclusion: the asteroid no longer posed a direct threat to Earth. The probability of impact turned out to be much lower than initially forecast. But the relief was short-lived. Those same refined calculations showed that the trajectory of 2024 YR4 intersected with the orbit of the Moon. And the likelihood of it striking our satellite was now even higher than its original probability of colliding with Earth. If this happens, it would be the most powerful lunar impact in the last 5,000 years, and it could happen as soon as 2032. Even if the impact were to strike the Moon, the consequences for Earth could be truly catastrophic. Researchers around the world working in the field of planetary defense are already proposing plans to prevent this event. One suggested scenario sounds like something straight out of a science fiction film: launching a nuclear strike against the asteroid to deflect or destroy it. If that plan becomes reality, the mission may fall to NASA.