#near earth object

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies estimates a 1% chance that asteroid 2024 YR4 could collide with Earth in 2032, based on current observations. Throughout the coming months, astronomers will closely monitor the 180-foot (55-meter)-wide object to refine its orbit and improve predictions of its future trajectory. No asteroid of this size has ever reached a 1% impact probability in the past two decades of near-Earth object tracking, making 2024 YR4 a rare and closely watched case.

Among its many science programs, IRTF is used to identify asteroids and comets that may pose a threat to Earth. The NASA contract with UH has a maximum potential value of approximately $85.5 million and could extend through December 2033, according to the space agency.