Near-Earth asteroid 2004 MN4 reaches Torino Scale hazard rating 4
{{byline|date=December 24, 2004|location=Houston}} 
NASA's Near Earch Object Program Office has recently announced that the asteroid named 2004 MN4, discovered last June, has the highest risk of earth impact to date. In the December 23 annoncement, NASA advised that the 400-meter wide asteroid has a 1 in 300 chance of colliding with earth.  As scientists gather more data on 2004 MN4, the probability of collision with earth is expected to decrease.

The level of impact risk is measured in terms of [[Wikipedia:Torino Scale|Torino Impact Hazard Scale]], and the MN4's score was initially 2 out of 10. 2004 MN4 is expected to come closest to the Earth on April 14, 2029. 

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==Sources==

* {{source|title=Near-Earth Asteroid 2004 MN4 Reaches Highest Score To Date On Hazard Scale|url=http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news146.html|author=Don Yeomans, Steve Chesley and Paul Chodas|pub=NASA|date=December 23, 2004}} - news release from Near Earth Object Program Office. 
* [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/2004mn4.html 2004 MN4 Earth Impact Risk Summary],  Near Earth Object Program Office, NASA.
* [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/torino_scale.html Torino Impact Hazard Scale], NASA. Last updated December 2003. 
* {{source|title=Introducing Asteroid 2004 MN4|pub=Slashdot|date=December 24, 2004|author=Michael Sims, anonymous|url=http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/24/1518210&threshold=3&tid=160}}

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[[Category:December 24, 2004]]
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NASA's Near Earch Object Program Office has recently announced that the asteroid named 2004 MN4, discovered last June, has the highest risk of earth impact to date. In the December 23 annoncement, NASA advised that the 400-meter wide asteroid has a 1 in 300 chance of colliding with earth.  As scientists gather more data on 2004 MN4, the probability of collision with earth is expected to decrease.

The level of impact risk is measured in terms of Torino Impact Hazard Scale, and the MN4's score was initially 2 out of 10. 2004 MN4 is expected to come closest to the Earth on April 14, 2029.
December 24, 2004 United States Disasters and accidents Science and technology Published Natural disasters Astronomy Earth