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#planetarydefense

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An impact of #asteroid #2024YR4 on the #Moon could be visible from Earth, if it impacts the side that faces us. Additional hazards not mentioned in articles I've seen so far would affect planning for #NASA #Artemis landing missions and Lunar Gateway space station (not yet launched). Some ejecta/debris from the impact would leave the Moon's weak gravity and could threaten Earth or our satellites weeks or months after impact. #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

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"James Webb telescope takes emergency look at 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 ahead of close encounter in 2032" by @LiveScience - #NASA #JWST observations confirm #asteroid #2024YR4 will not impact Earth on the Dec 22, 2032 fly-by. An impact on the #Moon🌒 is still not ruled out. Another JWST observation is scheduled for May before the rock disappears into the dark outer solar system for several years. livescience.com/space/asteroid #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

Live Science · James Webb telescope takes emergency look at 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 ahead of close encounter in 2032By Brandon Specktor
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"A Near-Miss with a City-Killer Asteroid Highlights Gaps in Earth’s Defenses" by @SciAm - Increasing capabilities to search for the next wayward #asteroid will mean recurring news like #2024YR4 where a threat is evaluated for potential collision course with Earth. At some point, we will find one headed here. Planning and test exercises try to become prepared for what to do when we know one is coming. scientificamerican.com/article #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

Scientific American · How Planetary Defenders Planned to Stop That City-Killer AsteroidBy Robin George Andrews
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"Asteroid 2024 YR4 is going to miss Earth, but the story doesn’t end there" by @arstechnica / @sciguyspace - The orbit of #Asteroid #2024YR4 has been narrowed down enough to know it will not hit Earth. Get used to more asteroids being evaluated as potential threats. The good news is that humanity is increasingly able to find these threats which were already out there. Don't be a dinosaur.🦕🦖🌠 arstechnica.com/space/2025/02/ #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

Ars Technica · Asteroid 2024 YR4 is going to miss Earth, but the story doesn’t end thereBy Eric Berger
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"You’re going to see more ‘city-killer’ asteroids, but fret not, MIT astronomer says" by KTLA Los Angeles - #Astedroid #2024YR4 is a useful example of what we're likely to see more often as astronomers get better equipment to locate rocks that have always been out there but previously passed unseen in the dark. Observation of an asteroid's orbit should look like this each time. ktla.com/news/nationworld/city #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

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I don't see new news articles yet. But I checked the #NASA JPL data on #asteroid #2024YR4. It has been dropped on the Torino Scale of impact hazards from 1 to 0, previously at 3 when it was in the news. Now 1 in 26000 chance of impact in the 2032 pass. 😌 Still expected to go to zero. Dark skies under a waning moon allowed enough observations to narrow down its orbit before it's too far away from Earth to see for 3 years. #astronomy #PlanetaryDefense #PlanetaryDefence #LowFlyingRocks #space

Did you know that NNSA, the agency DOGE randomly fired people from without knowing the agency secures our nuclear weapons, also helps prevent asteroids from killing us all?

Well, they do, and now you know.

"NNSA works with partners to detect and mitigate impact threats from potentially hazardous near-Earth objects."

This is just the declassified stuff they do to keep us all from dying.

energy.gov/nnsa/articles/plane

#nnsa#doge#USpol

"[W]hile [astronomers] continue to work on satellite interference issues, they are expanding their work to other topics broadly associated with space sustainability. These issues range from the threat of obtrusive space advertising and reentries that interfere with their observations to the danger of confusing asteroids with flying Teslas."

Comprehensive reporting by @jeff_foust for @spacenews_inc on Dark & Quiet Skies at #AAS245.

spacenews.com/as-the-night-sky

SpaceNews · As the night sky grows crowded, astronomers face a growing problemBy Jeff Foust