In 2032, a large asteroid will cruise close to Earth, possibly slamming into the moon’s surface. According to a new study, asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 4.3 percent chance of striking the moon on December 22, 2032. The Earth would be fine if it did, and in fact, you might want to mark your calendars now because it could result in some spectacular meteor showers.
There was a brief worry that asteroid 2024 YR4 would slam into us instead, with the chance peaking at around three percent. But upon further observation, researchers ruled that out. However, the mood remains very much in play.
A strike would release around eight megatons of energy, more than enough to make it the most energetic lunar impact ever observed by humans.
The Asteroid That Could Strike the Moon in 2032, Explained
Researchers ran 10,000 simulations to map out impact sites and outcomes, and the results generally suggest that a collision would produce a huge, bright flash that lasts several minutes.
That magnitude would be between -2.5 and -3, which is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The impact site would theoretically then glow in infrared light for hours afterward. Pretty wild, right?
The impact could also kick up as much as 22 million pounds of lunar debris, some of which would sneak into the Earth’s atmosphere, creating meteor showers that could last for several days. Luckily, they would cause us any harm; they would just provide us with some spectacular shooting stars.
Thanks for taking one for the team, moon.
The post Everything We Know About the Asteroid That Might Hit the Moon in 2032 appeared first on VICE.
