Scientists Cheer as Asteroid 2024 YR4 Shifts Its Aim from Earth to the Moon

For a few tense weeks, asteroid 2024 YR4 had astronomers watching the skies a little more closely. With an estimated size between 40 and 90 meters and a peak 3.1% chance of hitting Earth, it briefly held the second-highest impact probability of any known asteroid. If it had struck a populated area, the results could have been devastating. Fortunately, t…