Explore the latest developments concerning If asteroid YR4.
If asteroid YR4 hits our Moon, it'll cause a bright flash and meteors as debris hits Earth, say scientists
If asteroid 2024 YR4 does hit the Moon, it could produce a bright flash on the lunar surface that would be visible from Earth, and spray debris into our planet's atmosphere.
Such an impact may even produce meteors visible in our night sky, and generate an infrared glow visible hours after the event.
These are some of the results of a new study looking into what will happen if the large asteroid does hit our Moon in 2032.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 became one of the big talking points during the first half of 2025, when it was reported that there was a chance this large space rock could hit Earth in 2023.
If an Asteroid Hits The Moon in 2032, The Aftermath Might Reach Earth
There's a bright side to every situation. In 2032, the Moon itself might have a particularly bright side if it is blasted by a 60-meter-wide asteroid.
The chances of such an event are still relatively small (only around 4 percent), but non-negligible.
And scientists are starting to prepare both for the bad (massive risks to satellites and huge meteors raining down on a large portion of the planet) and the good (a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study the geology, seismology, and chemical makeup of our nearest neighbor).
Related: Astronomers Detect Hundreds of Cosmic Anomalies With New AI Tool
A new paper from Yifan He of Tsinghua University and co-authors, released as a preprint on arXiv, looks at the bright side of the potential science we could do if a collision does indeed happen.
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Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting moon in 2032 would be great for lunar science
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Scientists have stated it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, though it should be weighed against the potential dangers for people on Earth.
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