CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA issued a welcomed all-clear Thursday, saying there’s now zero chance that asteroid 2024 YR will crash into the moon in 2032.
The space agency had been predicting a 4.3% chance of a direct hit. But observations by the Webb Space Telescope in February helped scientists refine the asteroid’s orbit.
This new information indicates that the asteroid will miss the moon by 13,200 miles on Dec. 22, 2032.
Discovered at the end of 2024, the asteroid at first looked like it might threaten Earth. Scientists last year ruled out a collision with our planet anytime in the next century, but kept the moon as a possible target. The asteroid is about 200 feet across.
