Crisis avoided, everyone. The 2024 YR4 asteroid that scientists feared would hit Earth is going to miss us after all, but it may now hit the moon instead.
The moon has been hit by its fair share of asteroids in the past, having no atmosphere to slow them down. But, as far as we know, nothing lives up there, so it’s not a problem. However, the 2024 YR4 asteroid may just be big enough to cause problems even here on Earth when it hits the moon.
The asteroid in question is around 60 meters wide. If it had collided with Earth, it would have produced the same amount of power as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, five hundred times. So, scientists were pleased to discover that the previously estimated 3.1% chance of Earth impact had been reduced to zero.
Now, however, there is a 4.3% chance that the asteroid will hit the moon. Without an atmosphere to slow it down, the impact would be massive, as it comes screaming in at over 29,000 mph. This would leave a 0.6-mile-wide crater and throw 10,000 tons of debris into space.
What Impact Will An Asteroid Moon Strike Have On Earth
Without much gravity or an atmosphere, the particles thrown up by an asteroid strike on the moon would drift into space. An alarming number of these would make their way to Earth. Our gravity would draw them in, causing a number of problems.
Almost everything that came from the moon impact would be between 0,1mm and 10mm in size. These would all burn up long before they reached terra firma. However, as they drifted over towards Earth, they would come in contact with our low Earth orbit satellites.
The smaller particles kicked up from an asteroid strike on a moon could do minor, but crippling damage to a satellite. The larger, 10mm pieces could completely disable a satellite. They would be large enough to pierce the hull of a spacecraft and cause significant damage.
At the moment, though, the asteroid only has about 4.3% of a chance of hitting the moon. It’s not worth training carrier pigeons and printing out Wikipedia in preparation for a complete internet blackout, yet.