Even in the increasingly unlikely event of an impact from YR4, Oregon and the Pacific Northwest appear to be safe from impact. Computer models showed areas of South America, Africa and southeast Asia would have the highest risk in the event of an impact, based on what astronomers know about the asteroid’s orbit.

A NASA asteroid tracker explains how scientists are calculating the risk to Earth from asteroid 2024 YR4. Archaeologists are piecing together the world’s oldest known rune stone. It could shed light on the origins of early written Germanic languages and who inscribed it.