Asteroid 2024 YR4 Won't Collide With Moon In 2032: NASA

New observations from NASA's powerful space telescope have helped scientists better understand the path of a near-Earth asteroid discovered in 2024. With the latest data, experts have confirmed that the asteroid will not collide with the Moon in 2032 and will instead pass safely by it, reported NASA.

Based on data obtained from the James Webb Space Telescope on February 18th and 26th, scientists at the NASA Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, part of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, have provided a more accurate analysis of the orbit of the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4.

According to the new analysis, the asteroid will pass approximately 13,200 miles (21,200 kilometers) from the Moon's surface on December 22nd, 2032. According to the scientists, the latest findings make it clear that the asteroid is unlikely to collide with the Moon on that day.

Researchers clarified that this update does not indicate a change in the asteroid's orbit, but rather that its potential position in 2032 has become more accurate than before.

Previous estimates, which did not include recent observations, estimated a 4.3 percent chance of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with the Moon on December 22, 2032.

This observation mission was led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. The team of scientists recorded two additional observations of the asteroid using the special capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Scientists reported that the asteroid had been invisible from Earth-based and most space observatories since the spring of 2025. The James Webb Telescope was able to spot this extremely faint object, providing some of the faintest asteroid observations ever recorded.

Discovery And Initial Risk Assessment

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was discovered in late 2024 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System station in Chile, a NASA-funded project.

Information available in early 2025 indicated that the asteroid's chance of hitting Earth might be low but significant. However, after receiving more observations from observatories around the world, NASA concluded that this asteroid poses no significant threat to Earth on December 22, 2032, or in the next 100 years.

According to scientists, it is normal for initial risk assessments to be revised later, as orbital models are improved and more accurate as more observations become available.