Earlier this year there were briefly fears that the 60-metre-wide (200-foot-wide) asteroid called 2024 YR4, which is big enough to level a city, would strike Earth on December 22, 2032.
Subsequent observations from telescopes definitively ruled out a direct hit on Earth.
A new preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, is the first to estimate how such a collision could affect Earth.
The impact would be “comparable to a large nuclear explosion in terms of the amount of energy released”, he added.
If the asteroid hit the side of the Moon facing Earth -- which is roughly a 50-percent chance -- up to 10 percent of this debris could be pulled in by Earth’s gravity over the following days, they said.
Earth’s atmosphere would protect the surface from the millimetre- to centimetre-sized lunar rocks, Weigert said. 0.04-2.54
“A centimetre-sized rock travelling at tens of thousands of metres per second is a lot like a bullet,“ Wiegert said.
Meanwhile, those of us on the ground would be treated to a “spectacular” meteor shower lighting up the night sky, the study said.
The asteroid is not expected to be visible again until 2028, so the world will have to wait to find out more.
“I’m sure it will be considered,“ Wiegert said.
If 2024 YR4 is on a collision course with the Moon, it would be “a good target” for another test of our planetary defences, Wiegert said.
The preprint study, which published on the arXiv database last week, has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Hence then, the article about earth s satellites at risk if asteroid smashes into moon study was published today ( ) and is available on Daily Sun ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Earth’s satellites at risk if asteroid smashes into Moon: study )
Also on site :
- Pedestrian killed on 101 Freeway in Calabasas-Agoura Hills area
- Certis and FieldAI Form Strategic Partnership to Deploy Autonomous Robotics in Real-World Security Operations
- AI agents that do your work while you sleep sound great. The reality is far messier—‘it’s like a toddler that needs to be overseen’