Asteroid 2024 YR4 made headlines earlier this year when astronomers found it had a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. Further observations showed that the chances of impact dropped to practically zero, so there’s no need to worry about an upcoming impact from this object in the next 10 years. But an asteroid passing closing to the planet is still a great opportunity for research, and astronomers have been taking readings from YR4 and have now created a 3D model of it.
Astronomers used the Gemini South telescope in Chile to observe the asteroid, as it passed within just 1.5 million miles of Earth. These detailed readings were able to show characteristics of the objects like its composition and shape, and the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s NOIRLab has now released a visualization of what it would look like as it passed by Earth and the moon:
“Our observations with Gemini South provided a crucial piece of the puzzle in determining 2024 YR4’s characteristics,” said lead researcher Bryce Bolin of Eureka Scientific. “Studying this asteroid was vitally important in understanding the population of Earth crossers that have the potential to be Earth impactors and are poorly understood.”
The researchers found that the object is rich in silicates, and it about 30 to 65 meters across. The object is rotating rapidly, performing a rotation every 20 minutes, and it also has an unusual shape: like a hockey puck.
The ground also shared this 3D representation of the asteroid, showing its shape:
All of this information suggests that the asteroid came from the main asteroid belt in our solar system, located between Mars and Jupiter. That was something of a surprise to the researchers: “We are a bit surprised about its origin in the central main asteroid belt, which is a location in the asteroid belt that we did not think many Earth-crossing asteroids could originate from,” said Bolin.
Even though this asteroid won’t strike Earth, there is still a small chance that it could impact the moon. Mostly, though, astronomers are keen to study it to understand what future asteroids that might threaten the planet could be like.
“Understanding the properties and origins of near-Earth asteroids is proving critical for understanding the risk of collisions between our planet and major bodies in crossing orbits,” said Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory. “The Gemini telescopes and other astronomical observatories are vital tools for planetary defense.”
The research will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
