A person who used to be a pilot told the world something scary that might happen if the 2024 YR4 asteroid hits Earth in seven years.
Chris Hadfield, a former astronaut who is 65 years old, has added his two cents to the ongoing discussion about what might happen if it really does head straight for Earth.
The James Webb camera, which is the biggest, strongest, and most complicated camera ever launched in the solar system, will be used by NASA to get a better idea of what’s going to happen.
According to current estimates, the asteroid, which was found in Chile on December 27, 2018, has a 2.3% chance of hitting Earth.
Since 2024 YR4 was first seen, there has been a lot of talk about what would happen if it hit Earth. NASA is apparently making emergency plans in case it does.
A list of countries that could be affected by the huge rock chunk has also been made public along with scientists’ thoughts on the story.
No need to say that the effects of 2024 YR4 are not good; models have been made to show this.
Finally, Hadfield gave his professional view on the asteroid, which is said to be so huge that it could “destroy cities.”
Former astronaut Chris Hadfield warned that the asteroid is ‘500 times more powerful than the biggest bombs’ in WW2 (LBC)
At this point, the asteroid is thought to be 40 to 90 meters (130 to 295 feet) wide. On December 22, 2032, it could crash into Earth.
Since it was first seen around Christmas and plans to come back around the same time, Hadfield is calling it “the Christmas asteroid” instead of 2024 YR4, which I guess does sound a little better.
This week, the former scientist and engineer went on LBC and talked about why this particular asteroid is getting so much attention.
“We’re really taking a good look at it because it has a chance of hitting us and doing damage,” he said, adding that the asteroid is basically full of “7.7 megatons worth of TNT.”
“It’s about 500 times more powerful than the biggest bomb we exploded during World War 2,” said Hadfield.
So think about how badly we hurt each other in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is 500 times stronger because the energy is going through the air, making shockwaves and heating things up, and then exploding.
The asteroid could potentially strike the planet in 2032 (Getty Stock Image)
“It looks like a grenade.” A grenade is about the size of your hand, but it can hurt a lot of people. This grenade is 60 meters across.
While 2024 YR4 doesn’t have the added danger of radiation like the atomic bombs that destroyed Japan, it still has the power to do unimaginable damage.
Hadfield agreed that the asteroid is “just a rock or a bunch of stones,” but he said what’s scary about it is how fast it is moving.
The fighter pilot, who had also been in the Canadian Armed Forces for 25 years, said, “It’s a bunch of rocks and stones moving at 17 kilometers per second.” That’s pretty slow. I lived on the Space Station for six months. It’s going twice as fast as the Space Station. It was like a bullet coming straight at Earth from space.
But, as many other experts have already said, Hadfield said it’s not likely that it will hit us.
He also said, “The chances are it’ll miss us.” “By spring, we’ll know even more.” The best part is that we have plans for when we know for sure.
Don’t worry, though; the smart people of the world have another plan in case 2024 YR4 really does want to come see us.
Featured Image Credit: LBC
