What happens if an asteroid collides with the Earth? Should we worry?

Asteroids up to 295 feet may be heading towards Earth, but have not yet run.

Chilean Rio Hurtado's NASA-funded telescope first discovered the asteroid on December 27, called 2024.

According to the Center for Near Earth Object Research, “the object has a close proximity to the Earth”, which makes it bright enough to be detected in surveys of asteroids.

Observations and data collected since the initial sightings concluded that the asteroid was 30 million miles from Earth from January 31 and moved on orbital paths around the sun.

The asteroid will have more than 1% chance of sailing toward and Earth on Earth on December 2032. But scientists say they expect the possibility of future trajectories and impacts of asteroids to change as astronomers collect and analyze more data.

Why did this asteroid make headlines?

David Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Near Earth Object Research Center, said it was not uncommon to identify asteroids that could be heading towards Earth.

“When new discoveries are found, only the trajectory of the asteroid can be calculated and predicted collisions with Earth's age may not be immediately ruled out,” Farnocchia said. “As new observations are collected, the orbit becomes more accurate and can often be Exclude the impact of forecasts.”

What stands out in 2024 YR4 is that most asteroids don’t have 1% or more chances to contact Earth, especially “a person big enough to cause serious damage.”

“However,” Farnochia said, “there is a greater chance of losing the Earth in 2024 instead of impacting it.”

In unlikely, the asteroid’s trajectory is towards the Earth, and its destination will be along a “risk corridor” that extends to the Eastern Pacific, northern South America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arabian Sea and South Asia.

Astronomers will report the latest information on the asteroid’s future paths and report probability on the Sentinel webpage.

Should we worry?

Overall, asteroids are not something people pay too much attention to, Farnocchia said.

NASA has worked with international partners to investigate the sky for decades to identify asteroids.

“To date, most large asteroids that can cause catastrophic damage to the Earth have been discovered and have been proven to be no threat,” he said.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, when an asteroid travels to Earth from nearby orbits or external solar system, it becomes a meteorite.

Small asteroids usually burn in the upper atmosphere before reaching the surface of the earth to become meteorites.

According to USGS, slightly larger asteroids may cause them to be caused through the atmosphere, but often collapse in locations that cause minimal or no immediate damage. Many meteorites end up entering the ocean or open areas.

What happens when an asteroid hits Earth?

Scientists are currently studying asteroids in our solar system to understand their potential to collide with the Earth and the risks they have on their impact.

In 2021, a scientist’s collaborator published a report that identified the direct effects of asteroids, including “shock waves that can knock down forests and buildings, thermal radiation that can burn for the surrounding environment, and tsunami waves , to cause ocean impact. ”

Long-term impacts may include changing the way ecosystems develop. According to the report, “Bare soil allows for more stormwater runoff, changing the way erosion works in ecosystems. Dust from impact or air eruption can bring in climate effects.”

According to the USGS, during the Tunguska event in Siberia in 1908, the influence of a 213-foot meteor fragment, from Siberia to the Atlantic Ocean, created bright nights in Europe and Asia.

Another notable event involved the 2013 Chelyabinsk Meteor, with a diameter of 66 feet. Chelyabinsk caused minimal damage, and the area crashed, but its entrance caused an air explosion.

According to USGS, the atmospheric explosion “caused a shock wave, causing about 1,500 people to be injured and caused a lot of damage to buildings and houses”. The event proves that the greater danger of a larger meteor.

According to USGS, the severity of an asteroid collapse depends on the size and composition of the meteor.