For a few weeks in January and February this year, asteroid 2024 YR4 had us all worried.
Shortly after it was discovered, astronomers calculated that the asteroid had a 1-in-83 chance of hitting Earth in 2032 — that's an impact risk of around 1%. Experts urged caution, though noting that the impact odds were likely to fall significantly. Sure enough, by late February, the probability of the asteroid hitting Earth fell to near zero.
