'City-killer' asteroid will gouge 1km crater in Moon, releasing debris that will threaten Earth for years

The "city-killer" asteroid that is projected to smash into the Moon in 2032 will damage Earth's satellites as it makes its sojourn towards us. Scientists have discovered that even though asteroid 2024 YR4 will miss our planet, it will pose a “potential danger” to our satellites and even astronauts on the International Space Station.

Recently, new observations made into the asteroid increased the chances of it hitting the moon from 3.8 to 4.3 per cent. Astronomers around the world have been studying the asteroid to understand more about it. At one point, it threatened to collide with Earth. However, later calculations showed that Earth is safe, but the moon is not.

Now, scientists from the University of Western Ontario have revealed the expected aftermath of the asteroid, both for Earth and the Moon. The space rock will release energy equivalent to 6.5 megatons of TNT upon impact with our lunar satellite. This is way more than the energy released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 during World War II, which stood at nearly 0.015 megatons of TNT.

Also Read: What will happen on Dec 22, 2032? Not good things for our Moon, as scientists await major event

The asteroid will also gouge a crater nearly one kilometre in diameter on its surface. The debris generated by the asteroid crash will weigh a whopping 100,000,000kg. The study by the Ontario scientists is yet to be peer reviewed.

This debris will be a problem for Earth that will continue to be hit by lunar material for days, and probably even years. According to the researchers, 10 per cent of this debris could “accrete to the Earth on timescales of a few days”. The satellites hovering over Earth will take the hit from the resulting meteorites.

Also Read: Scientists discover someting unexpected moving 2,700km under Earth's surface

“Of primary concern are ejecta particles above the impact hazard threshold (0.1 mm) for satellites delivered directly to low Earth orbit on relatively short timescales – days to months – and that could pose a hazard to spacecraft," the study states.

The scale of damage and destruction to Earth's satellites will depend on the location where the asteroid hits the Moon, and will be the most critical factor. The size of the crater and the amount of debris released will also impact how much and for how long the satellites are impacted.

“Because the moon is orbiting the Earth at approximately 1km per second, for ejected material to reach Earth quickly, the impacting object needs to hit the trailing edge of the moon,” it says.

The scientists simulated the asteroid in 10,000 ways and noted that it hit the Moon in 410 of them. Right now, it is estimated that the asteroid will hit its southern hemisphere.

“This will all occur during the few days of maximum ejecta delivery from a 2024 YR4 impact," researchers say.

By 2032, Earth will have even more satellites than it has today. This greatly increases the chances of a clash happening above the planet when asteroid 2024 YR4 strikes the Moon.