The Asteroid That Almost Ended It All
December 22, 2032 - 269,000 km from Earth
On December 27, 2024, the ATLAS telescope system in Chile detected something that would send shockwaves through the astronomical community: Asteroid 2024 YR4.
This wasn't just another space rock. Initial calculations showed it had up to a 3% chance of impacting Earth on December 22, 2032. For context, anything above 1% triggers international planetary defense protocols.
53-67 meters
"City-Killer"
Level 3
269,000 km
At approximately 174-220 feet across (about the size of a 15-story building), YR4 earned its "city-killer" designation from NASA. An impact from an asteroid this size could devastate an entire metropolitan area, shatter windows hundreds of miles away, and release energy equivalent to multiple nuclear weapons.
For weeks, the world watched as astronomers tracked YR4. The impact probability didn't drop—it climbed. As more observations refined the asteroid's orbit, the range of possible trajectories narrowed, but Earth remained stubbornly within that shrinking window.
The International Asteroid Warning Network issued formal notifications. Space agencies began preliminary discussions about deflection missions. This was real. This was happening.
Then, in February 2025, after intensive observation campaigns using ground-based telescopes and even the James Webb Space Telescope, the verdict came in: YR4 would miss Earth. The probability dropped to nearly zero.
But here's what makes this special: We witnessed planetary defense in action. We saw humanity's early warning systems work exactly as designed. We got our wake-up call.
$YR4 on PulseChain commemorates this moment in history—when we looked into the void and the void blinked first. This token represents humanity's vigilance against cosmic threats and celebrates the science that keeps us safe.
On December 22, 2032, as YR4 passes at a safe distance of 269,000 km (closer than the Moon), we'll remember: we saw it coming, we tracked it, and we understood it. That's the power of science. That's the power of preparation.
HODL until 2032. Remember the asteroid that almost ended it all. 🌍🚀☄️