MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is currently the most dangerous asteroid to Earth due to the probability of entering Earth’s atmosphere, however, the risks are still very low, an astronomy expert of Perm National Research Polytechnic University (PNRPU) Yevgeny Burmistrov told TASS.

June 30 marks the International Asteroid Day. Astronomers consider asteroids potentially hazardous if they pass Earth's orbit at a distance of less than 7.5 million kilometers and are sufficiently large — about 50-100 meters in length.

"Currently, close attention is directed at the recently discovered asteroid called 2024 YR4, which is estimated to possibly enter Earth's atmosphere on December 22, 2032. The fall of such a celestial body would cause serious destruction within a radius of 30 km from the strike — it is comparable to a large city. The chances of a collision are extremely small, but astronomers are already preparing to clarify its trajectory during its next approach to Earth in 2028," Burmistrov noted.

The expert believes that Earth's inhabitants have no reason to worry: the current probability of a collision is about 0.0017%.

"Moreover, humanity has already learned to alter the orbits of asteroids: several years ago, a spacecraft crashed into the asteroid Dimorphos, reducing its orbital period by as much as a half hour and shifting its trajectory by thousands of kilometers. That is enough to make a dangerous space body miss Earth," he added.