Asteroid 2024 YR4 won't smack Moon in 2032, boffins confirm

Scientists have ruled out the possibility that the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 might hit the Moon on December 22, 2032.

Previous analyses had given the event a 4.3 percent chance, but refinements to measurements of its orbit by the European Space Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre and NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies have reduced the probability to 0.0 percent. Instead, the asteroid will pass the lunar surface at approximately 13,200 miles (21,200 km).

A year ago, boffins estimated the asteroid had a 1-in-100 chance of hitting the Earth. The figure was revised up and down before scientists eventually declared Earth safe from this particular object. Even though asteroid 2024 YR4 was not going to come close to Earth, there remained a distinct possibility it might impact the Moon.

The asteroid has not been observable from Earth or most space-based observatories since last (Northern ...