Scientists Warn an Asteroid the Size of a Football Field Could Strike Earth and Destroy an Entire City

The potential impact of an asteroid, dubbed 2024 YR4, charging towards Earth has left scientists in a state of worry. While they are closely monitoring the behavior of the cosmic rock, the possibility of significant damage due to its massive size and catastrophic power is dreaded. Measuring the size of a football field, the asteroid has rattled space authorities as they anticipate it could potentially wipe out a whole city, per The Planetary Society. 

Bruce Betts, chief scientist of The Planetary Society, talked to Agence France-Presse (AFP) about the risks of YR4, which is about 130 to 300 feet wide, as the New York Post reported. “If you put it over Paris or London or New York, you basically wipe out the whole city and some of the environs,” she said. According to the society, the asteroid could hit Earth on December 22, 2032, with an impact possibility of 1.6%. The space rock was first observed in December 2024 from the El Sauce Observatory in Chile and was constantly assessed for risks until January 29, 2025. 

The closing gap between Earth and YR4 urged the International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) to set off alarm bells on its threats. It could potentially untether an explosion that would be 100 times greater than an atomic bomb. The Planetary Society also revealed that out of the 37,000 and more near-Earth asteroids, YR4 is the only one with a 1 in 1000 chance of impact. Heidi Hammel, Vice President for Science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, said, “It is rare to have an asteroid with a non-zero probability of hitting Earth.” 

She added that further observations and orbit measurements have revealed that YR4 is elongated in shape and stony in texture. On the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, the asteroid received the second-highest rating of 3 out of 10. The highest was achieved by Apophis with a rating of 4 following its 2004 discovery. The IAWN also mapped a risk corridor ahead of the potential 2032 YR4 impact and identified potential crash sites, including the Pacific Ocean, the Arabian Sea, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, northern South America, and South Asia. Hammel added that both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have teamed up in addition to the IAWN to determine the possibility of the impact and plan ahead while sharing crucial information with the world. 

Kelly Fast, acting planetary defense officer at NASA affirmed that they are keeping an eye on the space rock. “We do take it seriously, but we want to put it in perspective. There's still a very low probability that it would even impact the Earth at all,” she said. As per reports, observations conducted over long periods of time eventually depict diminished values of risk factors, often falling to 1 or nil on the Torino Scale. 

Betts of the Planetary Society is positive the asteroid will more likely deviate away from Earth and the probability will fall to zero in the upcoming months. “At this point, it’s 'Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s get as many assets as we can observing it,'” she said. Collating the patterns with Apophis in 2004, the scientist painted a picture of decreasing uncertainty with building observations. She quipped that the dangers of a car crash are far higher than of a potential asteroid collision, and advised to wear seat belts.