Asteroid 2024 YR₄ Could Hit the Moon in 2032 and Send Dangerous Debris Toward Earth
An asteroid named 2024 YR₄, about 60 meters wide (roughly the size of a tall office building), might hit the Moon on December 22, 2032. Scientists estimate there is a 4 percent chance that it could strike the lunar surface.
If that happens, the collision would release energy equal to 6.5 megatons of TNT and create a crater about one kilometer across. Events of this scale are not common. A crater that large only forms on the Moon about once every 5,000 years.
