The ‘city killer’ space rock had been causing increasing concern in recent weeks. (Image: Getty)
was reportedly worried that the chances of a “city killing” asteroid striking Earth could breach the 20% mark at one stage.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 was initially discovered late last year and is believed to measure between 130 and 300 feet across, comparable to the height of Big Ben.
The giant rock was immediately added to the US agency’s automated Sentry risk list, and at the time was estimated to have a 1.2% chance of striking our planet on December 22, 2032.
The odds had risen since the start of the year, with NASA bumping them up to 3.1% last week.
However, reports that statistical analysis it has seen showed had warned that the chance of collision could rise above 20% by April in a “worst-case scenario”.
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NASA now says the asteroid is not a threat to Earth. (Image: Getty)
The projections were submitted during a meeting of the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) in Vienna, revealing how seriously the threat was being taken.
NASA has been approached for comment.
Astronomers were fearful that a direct hit could create a mid-air explosion equivalent to almost eight million tons of TNT, or about 500 times the power of the atom bomb dropped by the US on Hiroshima, Japan, in World War Two.
By January 31, it was 30 million miles away from Earth, moving farther from the sun. It will come closer to our planet again in 2028.
Now, 2024 YR4 is no longer thought to be a threat to Earth. On February 20, the odds of it hitting us decreased dramatically to a mere 0.005% chance of impact, with experts reassigning it Torino Scale level zero.
[REPORT]
Speaking to the Mail, Richard P Binzel, astronomer and professor of planetary sciences at MIT explained that: “You can think of Torino Scale Zero as signalling ‘All Clear.'”
However, the odds of the asteroid slamming into the Moon have now increased to 1.8%, reports. The risk is expected to rise further in the weeks ahead.
A spokesperson for NASA told the newspaper: “There still remains a very small chance for asteroid 2024 YR4 to impact the Moon.
“When first discovered, asteroid 2024 YR4 had a very small, but notable chance of impacting our planet in 2032.
“As observations of the asteroid continued to be submitted … experts at Nasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s centre for near-earth object studies were able to calculate more precise models of the asteroid’s trajectory and now have found there is no significant potential for this asteroid to impact our planet for the next century.”