{"id":260482,"date":"2026-01-31T04:58:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260482\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T04:58:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T04:58:07","slug":"asteroid-hurtling-towards-the-moon-to-be-most-energetic-lunar-impact-ever-and-risks-sending-meteors-smashing-into-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/260482\/","title":{"rendered":"Asteroid hurtling towards the moon to be ‘most energetic lunar impact ever’ and risks sending meteors smashing into Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

An asteroid which risks colliding with the moon in just years could produce “the most energetic lunar impact event ever recorded in human history”, scientists say.<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2024 YR4, which at one point risked smashing into Earth, has the potential of hitting our Moon in 2032.<\/p>\n

Scientists say such a scenario would cause a huge crater on the lunar surface and spark an unusual illumination phenomenon.<\/p>\n

A bright glow would be visible from Earth for hours after impact, according to the new study titled “Observation Timelines for the Potential Lunar Impact of Asteroid 2024 YR4”. <\/p>\n

The flash would be as bright as magnitude \u20133, which is about as bright as a planet like Mars or Jupiter can be to the naked eye from Earth.<\/p>\n

It also indicated the collision would spark a global “Moonquake” and lead to the creation of a meteor shower, with some of the debris hitting Earth.<\/p>\n

The impact could also for as long as 100 years.<\/p>\n

Scientists said the asteroid would “produce a \u223c1 km crater on the Moon, and will be the most energetic lunar impact event ever recorded in human history.<\/p>\n

\"Nasa<\/p>\n

Possible locations \u2013 represented by yellow points \u2013 Asteroid 2024 YR4 could hit in December 2032<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

NASA JPL<\/p>\n

\"Graphic<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2024 YR4 could lead to a crater that would appear on the surface of the Moon and result in meteors being ejected from the lunar surface<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

THE DISCOVERY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ASTEROID 2024 YR4<\/p>\n

They added: “The associated seismic energy release would lead to a global-scale lunar reverberation (magnitude \u223c5.0) that can be detectable by modern seismometers.<\/p>\n

“Furthermore, the impact would eject \u223c108 kg of debris that escapes the lunar gravity, with a small fraction reaching Earth to produce a lunar meteor outburst within 100 years.”<\/p>\n

There is only a 4.3 per cent probability of the asteroid hitting the moon.<\/p>\n

The study concluded that “despite the associated risk, this scenario offers a rare and valuable scientific opportunity”.<\/p>\n

LATEST SPACE DEVELOPMENTS<\/p>\n

\"Stock<\/p>\n

There is a 4.3 per cent probability of Asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting the moon<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2024 YR4 has had the attention of scientists ever since it became the first asteroid to trigger a “coordinated international planetary defence response” amid fears of impact with Earth.<\/p>\n

First discovered in December 2024, the space rock is travelling through space as 38,000+ miles per hour.<\/p>\n

It is thought to be made from silicate rock and nickel-iron, and to have originated from a group of asteroids in the central Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter.<\/p>\n

Asteroid 2024 YR4 was initially given a 3.1 per cent chance of it striking Earth in 2032, before the scenario was ruled out last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An asteroid which risks colliding with the moon in just years could produce “the most energetic lunar impact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260483,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-260482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}