An asteroid that is likely to hit Earth in the year 2032 has major Indian cities at risk according to the assessment by astronomers.
Asteroid 2024 YR4, 130 to 300 feet long, is expected to make a very close pass of the planet in 2032. Although much of the object’s estimated track passes over an empty ocean, it includes mega Indian cities Mumbai and Kolkata.
Based on the trajectory, towns in the state of Maharashtra, Northern Telangana, Southern Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are also at risk. The impact, however, depends on several factors like entry angle, speed, and atmospheric effects.
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Other probable impact locations in the world include Bogotá, Colombia; Lagos and Nigeria.
Although the asteroid is not large, especially when compared to a much larger asteroid Apophis discovered in 2004, its potential impact is nevertheless capable of creating extensive destruction. Nasa, however, has lowered the probability of the asteroid striking the Earth to 1.5%.
The speed of the asteroid will be approximately 40,000 miles per hour, which will generate an energy outflow 500 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, and the explosion could very well annihilate a whole city.
The kinetic energy of an asteroid is a proxy for how destructive its impact would be. And as asteroids mostly move at the same speed — about 38,000 mph — the key variable is its mass. The composition is also important. 2024 YR4 is statistically likelier to be a stony asteroid, which is more prone to fragment into smaller pieces as it is heated during its atmospheric descent.
While the thought of an asteroid hitting Earth is undoubtedly unsettling, the probability of 2024 YR4 making contact in 2032 is extremely low. NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are closely monitoring the asteroid’s path.
The asteroid was initially discovered on December 27, 2023, by Chilean El Sauce Observatory, 2024 YR4.
