Monday 17th February 2025
    Difficulty: Hard

    The Risk List (Quiz #822)

    Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@hubblespacetelescope?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">NASA Hubble Space Telescope</a>
    Photo by NASA Hubble Space Telescope (Unsplash)

    The Risk List is a catalogue of all objects for which a non-zero impact probability has been computed. In other words, they are asteroids and other objects in space that might one day hit the Earth.
    The impact hazard of each object is measured on the Torino scale, which uses a scale from 0 (a negligibly small chance of collision with the Earth) to 10 (a collision is certain, and will precipitate a global disaster).

    1. What is the highest Torino Scale score that has ever been recorded for a near Earth object?

    2. The object at the top of the Risk List (as of February 2025) is the asteroid 2024 YR4. What is the currently estimated probability that it will impact the Earth?

    3. What was the name of NASA's test mission in 2022, in which a robotic spacecraft collided with an asteroid to change its course?

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