Astronomers have seen the asteroid of the “murderer of the city” before it disappears until 2028, according to NASA.
The space rock, called 2024 years 4Previously there was a 3.1% chance of hitting the earth in December 2032, but astronomers have done so since then eliminated The possibility of a strike at that time based on more observations.
Astronomers are seeing about 2024 years, trying to learn everything they can before disappearing from the mid -April, Kelly Fast, a NASA planetary defense officer, told ABC News earlier this year. Its unique elongated orbit carries the asteroid around the sun and towards the neighborhood of the earth before it ventures between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and out of sight, said Fast.
The NASA Near Earth Studies Center used the James Webb space telescope, the largest and most powerful telescope ever released into space, to capture photos of the asteroid, the space agency announced On Wednesday.
This image provided by the European Space Agency, on April 2, 2025, captured by NASA’s Webb Telescope, shows the asteroid 2024 years4.
European Space Agency through AP
The new infrared observations indicate that the asteroid measures between 174 feet and 220 feet in diameter, approximately the size of the 10 -story building, according to NASA. While it is not forecast to hit the earth in 2032, the asteroid now has a probability of 1.7% of hitting the moon at that time, the space agency said.
The space rock was first discovered on December 27 by astronomers that monitor the Atlas Telescope at Hawaii, said Fast.
In the past, even when the asteroid went through the internal solar system, it did not always approach where the earth was at that time, so it was recently discovered, said Fast.
The asteroid has been called a “city murderer” due to its size and potential to cause important destruction. It’s large enough to cause localized damage if they were hitting a populated city, said Fast.
Graph of possible locations, represented by yellow points, of asteroid 2024 years 4 on December 22, 2032, as of April 2, 2025.
POT
In 1908, the similar size Aereroide Flattened trees about an area of approximately 1,250 miles after it exploded in the heavens over Siberia.
NASA has been commissioned by Congress with Asteroid location More than 450 feet long, which are large enough to cause “regional” damage in case of a strike, said Fast.
The asteroid currently has a 1.1% probability of the surprising earth on December 22, 2047, according to NASA.
More than 2% probability of an asteroid strike is “uncommon”, A ABC News in February, Davide Farnocchia, navigation engineer of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
But astronomers will continue to closely monitor the asteroid.
“We don’t want to take a risk,” Farnocchia said.
