CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A newly discovered asteroid has a tiny chance of smacking Earth in 2032, space agency officials said Wednesday.
Scientists put the odds of a strike at slightly more than 1%.
“We are not worried at all, because of this 99 percent chance it will miss," said Paul Chodas, director of NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies. “But it deserves attention.”
First spotted last month by a telescope in Chile, the near-Earth asteroid — designated 2024 YR4 — is estimated to be 130 to 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across.
Scientists are keeping close watch on the space rock, which is currently heading away from Earth. As the asteroid’s path around the sun becomes better understood, Chodas and others said there’s a good chance the risk to Earth could drop to zero.
The asteroid will gradually fade from view over the next few months, according to NASA and the European Space Agency. Until then, some of the world's most powerful telescopes will keep monitoring it to better determine its size and path. Once out of sight, it won't be visible until it passes our way again in 2028.
The asteroid came closest to Earth on Christmas Day — passing within roughly 500,000 miles (800,000 kilometers) of Earth, about twice the distance of the moon. It was discovered two days later.
Chodas said scientists are poring over sky surveys from 2016, when predictions show the asteroid also ventured close.
If scientists can find the space rock in images from then, they should be able to determine whether it will hit or miss the planet, he told The Associated Press. “If we don’t find that detection, the impact probability will just move slowly as we add more observations,” he said.
Earth gets clobbered by an asteroid this size every few thousand years, according to ESA, with the potential for severe damage. That's why this one now tops ESA's asteroid risk list.
The potential impact would occur on Dec. 22, 2032. It’s much too soon to know where it might land if it did hit Earth.
The good news, according to NASA, is that for now, no other known large asteroids have an impact probability above 1%.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - This May 18, 1969 photo provided by NASA shows Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon. (NASA via AP)
BERLIN (AP) — A Norwegian film about love, desire and self-discovery won top honors at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.
A jury headed by American director Todd Haynes awarded the Golden Bear trophy to “Dreams (Sex Love)” by director Dag Johan Haugerud.
Haynes called it a “meditation on love” that “cuts you to the quick with its keen intelligence.”
The film focuses on a teenager played by Ella Øverbyer, infatuated with her female French teacher, and the reactions of her mother and grandmother when they discover her private writings. It’s the third part of a trilogy Haugerud has completed in the past year. “Sex” premiered at Berlin in 2024, and “Love” was screened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
The runner-up Silver Bear prize went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro’s dystopian drama “The Blue Trail.” Argentine director Ivan Fund’s rural saga “The Message” won the third-place Jury Prize.
The best director prize went to Huo Meng for “Living the Land,” set in fast-changing 1990s China.
Rose Byrne was named best performer for her role as an overwhelmed mother in the Mary Bronstein-directed “If I had Legs, I’d Kick You.” Andrew Scott won the supporting performer trophy for playing composer Richard Rodgers in Richard Linklater’s “Blue Moon.”
The climax of the festival known as the Berlinale came on the eve of Germany’s parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by migration and the economy.
The national election is being held seven months early, after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition collapsed in a dispute about how to revitalize the country’s economy.
Efforts to curb migration have emerged as a central issue in the campaign — along with the question of how to handle the challenge from the far-right Alternative for Germany, which appears to be on course for its strongest national election result yet.
Mexican director Ernesto Martinez Bucio, right, and producer Alejandro Duran pose with a viewfinder as part of the Best First Feature Award during the winner's photocall at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Ronny Hartmann/Pool via AP)
Mexican director Ernesto Martinez Bucio poses with a viewfinder as part of the Best First Feature Award during the winner's photocall at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Ronny Hartmann/Pool via AP)
Dag Johan Haugerud, winner of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', poses for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Dag Johan Haugerud, winner of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', poses for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Dag Johan Haugerud, winner of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', poses for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Venezuelan director Ivan Fund poses with the Silver Bear Jury Prize during the winner's photocall at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Ronny Hartmann/Pool via AP)
US director Brandon Kramer, right, and US director Lance Kramer pose with the Berlinale Documentary Award during the winner's photocall at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Ronny Hartmann/Pool via AP)
Yngve Saether, from left, Dag Johan Haugerud and Hege Hauff Hvattum, winners of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', pose for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Hege Hauff Hvattum, winner of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', poses for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Yngve Saether, from left, Dag Johan Haugerud and Hege Hauff Hvattum, winners of the Golden Bear for best film for 'Dreams (Sex Love)', pose for photographers at the winners photo call during the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Ivan Fund accepts the Silver Bear jury prize for the film 'The Message' during the awards ceremony at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP).
Australian actress Rose Byrne poses with the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance award during the winner's photocall at the International Film Festival, Berlinale, in Berlin, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Ronny Hartmann/Pool via AP)