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THE CHANCE THAT an asteroid capable of wiping out a city will hit Earth in eight years has been cut in half to around 1.5%, according to new calculations from NASA.
The drop in odds had been widely anticipated by the global astronomical community, which now broadly expects the probability the asteroid will hit Earth on 22 December, 2032 to fall down to zero.
For more than 24 hours, the asteroid did have the highest probability of hitting Earth of such a big space rock in modern forecasting.
Updated calculations posted by NASA late Wednesday said the odds of a direct hit had fallen to 1.5% from 3.1%.
This reduces the chances from one in 32 to one in 67
The European Space Agency’s separate calculations plunged further to 1.38%.
Richard Moissl, head of the ESA’s planetary defence office, told AFP this had been expected as the “uncertainty region” where the asteroid could strike starts to “slip off” Earth.
New observations of 2024 YR4 have enabled planetary defense experts to refine the asteroid's chance of impact in 2032. As nightly observations continue, the impact probability will continue to be updated.
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) February 19, 2025
Learn more: https://t.co/h3KfDYcQoa pic.twitter.com/APXNcYfip4
The percentage chance will likely still “wiggle slightly up and down a bit” but is now expected to soon fall below 1%, he added.
It is not clear whether that will happen before the James Webb Space Telescope turns its powerful gaze to the asteroid next month.
There is still an 0.8% chance that the asteroid will hit the Moon, according to NASA.
The asteroid, which is known as 2024 YR4, was first detected in December.
It is estimated to be around 40-90 metres wide, which would not cause a global catastrophe, but would still be capable of causing significant destruction to a city.
The last time an asteroid of greater than 30 metres in size posed such a significant risk was Apophis in 2004, when it briefly had a 2.7% chance of striking Earth in 2029 — a possibility later ruled out by additional observations.
Go home!!! Your boss might think your brilliant working till 8-9 or even 10pm but it’s not worth it in the long run health and family wise
yeah . it’s not like the boss will keep you on if they have to loose staff or close down. you’re just a number when in employment.
Simple: turn off the TV at mealtimes or eat in the kitchen and not the sitting room.
No phones or tablets at the dinner table.
My telephone is anchored to the wall and my tablets are in the medicine cabinet.
No tv, no wifi, no mobile devices – for a start. Everybody eats the same meal, nobody leaves the table until we’re finished. If we’re finished early then we talk to one another. Even if we all don’t make it to the table at the same time (if someone is working) then everybody else still eats together. It is that simple.
We always always eat together unless someone is working…never made special meals for anyone (surprising how people came to like previous dislikes!)…no telly…oh and no telly in bedrooms either!
Looks liked I would have had malnutrition in your house.
I’m lucky my mother did me separate meals.
*my mother had malnutrition growing up due to being a picky eater.
With teenagers there has to be a No phones at the table . Also they need to help with preparations and clean up.
My 6 and 3 year olds usually compete with each other when setting the plates and cutlery…I hope they continue to do so into their teen years.
We always share 1 childhood experience (good or bad) of our own with kids at dinner time and wait for everyone to finish before getting up.
I tell them to sit down, shut up, and eat this crap. If they are hungry enough, following physical activity, there is no problem whatever. Articles like this annoy me.
Don’t forget the wooden spoon.
Isn’t there a word for people that willingly expose themselves to things that annoy them?
Masochist?
Yes, a few words actually. However, ‘narky oul’ shite’ will suffice. Give me patience.
Bad day today Sheik? you were annoyed on other threads. Relax, it will pass.
Once a week is enough for us for sit down family meal. The kids are generally hungry straight after school. The husband can finish work any time between 5 and 7.
Everyone in the house has their own tastes so sometimes I cook 3 different meals at the same time. My husband can’t eat red meat or anything with cream, my one son doesn’t like things spicy (like me), my one son also turned vegetarian for a while (that phase is over), my one son and daughter are the only people in the family who like fish and prawns.
So meal times are organised chaos.
As a picky eater as a child I didn’t agree with forcing a child to eat a food they don’t like. I am very happy to feed them what I know they will eat be it a stir fry, roast, curry, pasta and so on.
Finally Lily, a realistic response. All the others were written whilst wearing rose-tinted glasses.
I grew up in a ‘eat when you are hungry’ house. No set in stone mealtimes. It was more of a relaxed environment that way. Dad often worked till late at night on a car engine (he wouldn’t leave it till it was fixed) and would have his dinner reheated in the microwave.
I have been to extended family sit down meals and they are awkward. Expectations for kids to clean their plates, bribery with desserts, no elbows on table, kids getting bored, parents getting irritated. More hassle than its worth sometimes. ..
No breakfast or lunch does the job!
Everyone helps in some way prepare, cook and clean. No media interference in family and social conversation
Hunger is a great sauce. There weren’t too many picky eaters when food was scarce. I understand some people have aversions to certain foods but with kids sometimes give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. They eat what’s for the dinner in our house and if they don’t like certain things in it e.g. Mushrooms, they can pick them out. A little bit of everything.
Spare the rod, spoil the child
Feed them .
Fresh cod and chips gets them all to the table
No trick required. Both our kids have done it since day one. All breakfasts and dinners are at the table with tv off. Its nice.
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