NASA names countries with the highest chances to be affected by a "city killer" asteroid

Forecasts by the European Space Agency (ESA) show that the path of the "city killer" asteroid could intersect with the Earth's orbit on Christmas Day 2032. Thus, NASA scientists have named the countries that could be affected by this collision the most.

Among the countries in the possible firing line are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Sudan. Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. However, the residents of these countries should not panic yet, as the probability of a collision is just over two percent, The Sun reports.

Astronomers say that the asteroid 2024 YRA is 40 to 100 meters wide, and it will create a crater in the Earth's crust the size of a city. That is why it is called the "city killer."

When it was discovered, the giant boulder rose to the top of NASA's collision risk list, and its threat level only increased with further calculations.

Asteroid 2024 YRA could tear through the atmosphere at over 61,000 kilometers per hour and cause more destruction than 100 nuclear bombs.

NASA Catalina Sky Survey project engineer David Rankin has drawn a "risk corridor" showing the channel where the space rock could land.

Scientists' calculations suggest that the asteroid is likely to hit somewhere in a band that stretches from the top of South America across the Pacific Ocean, through southern Asia, the Arabian Sea, and Africa. Where exactly it will strike within this band will depend on the Earth's rotation.

According to experts, the data on asteroid 2024 YRA is constantly changing, as its path is extremely variable.

Agencies around the world are preparing planet protection programs to prepare for the asteroid's deflection, if necessary.

A special projects cell of the State Department of Science and Technology of China has published an announcement about the work on the "planetary defense" project. They strive to improve asteroid monitoring and create an early warning system.

Due to growing concerns about the likelihood of a collision with a space rock, researchers are proposing various methods to deflect an unwanted impact, including solar lasers, nuclear bombs, or, most likely, kinetic impactors.

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