NASA monitors large asteroid nearing Earth

ed calculations indicate that an Earth impact is very unlikely, and some scientists now suggest that 2024 YR4 may instead be on its path to possibly collide with the Moon in December 2032.  “Asteroid 2024 YR4 is now too far away to observe with either space or ground-based telescopes. NASA expects to make further observations when the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of Earth in 2028,” NASA said on their website.  More recently, scientists from South Korea’s Pusan National University examined another large asteroid known as Bennu. This space rock some 1,640 feet wide is predicted to have a one-in-2,700 chance of colliding with Earth in September 2182. Although an impact is highly unlikely, the potential consequences of it would be severe. Shock waves produced by the collision would trigger earthquakes, wildfires and thermal radiation. The impact would also create a large crater, sending debris into the atmosphere. Atmospheric chemistry and global photosynthesis would also be disrupted for three to four years due to the release of 100–400 million tons of dust into the atmosphere from the impact.  Average surface temperatures would drop by about 7 degrees Fahrenheit, rainfall would decrease by 15 percent and the ozone layer would be reduced by 32 percent. Plant photosynthesis would also decline by 20 to 30 percent.