Ho ho ho: Asteroid the size of nine reindeer to pass by Earth on Christmas - NASA

An asteroid the size of around nine reindeer - coincidentally, how many reindeer Santa Claus supposedly uses - is set to pass by the Earth on Christmas.

By AARON REICH DECEMBER 22, 2024 18:10 Updated: DECEMBER 22, 2024 18:22

An illustrative image of an asteroid passing Earth. (photo credit: INGIMAGE)

An asteroid the size of nine reindeer is set to pass over the Earth on Wednesday, Christmas, in what is set to be a relatively close holiday flyby, according to NASA's asteroid tracker. 

The jolly old asteroid has been designated as 2024 YP, as noted by the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The asteroid will pass closer to the Earth than most others, but luckily will not impact - news that should bring some festive joy to everyone. So instead of it being just a Merry Christmas, it will be a Merry Asteroid-miss.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, an asteroid's on its way: How big is the asteroid passing Earth this Christmas?

Asteroid 2024 YP is estimated by NASA to be as much as 21 meters in diameter. 

To put that size into perspective, let's compare it to a reindeer because it's for Christmas, and we at The Jerusalem Post like being timely. 

An illustrative image depicting Santa Claus flying in his sleigh with his reindeer above the Middle East and North Africa region of a globe-shaped ornament. (credit: PIXABAY)

First, it is important to mention the following disclaimer. Santa Claus is not real. I'm sorry to all the young children reading this with hopeful, youthful optimism in their eyes, all hoping to hear about a jolly old man in red and white flying across the sky giving gifts and coal to everyone, but that's a lie. It's time to grow up and face the facts: no one is giving you free toys because you're a good kid. (Editor's note: The author of this article may or may not consistently receive coal every year on December 25 for some reason). 

If Santa isn't real, what is?

But while Santa Claus isn't real, reindeer absolutely are. Also known as caribou, reindeer are a type of deer and are the only semi-domesticated type of deer in the world - so if any type of deer was going to pull a magical sled, it would be them. Though there are a few different types, and no one knows what type of reindeer Claus (because we're all professional journalists here, we refer to people by their last name on second mention, so Santa Claus is just Claus now) allegedly uses. But if we were to guess, we would go along with measurements provided by the University of Michigan, which say that reindeer can grow to as much as 230 centimeters in length or 2.3 meters. 

All in all that means that asteroid 2024 YP is around the size of nine reindeer. 

And what a coincidence that is because in many traditions, Claus is said to use precisely nine reindeer on his planet-wide household littering expeditions that have somehow been rebranded as gift-giving. 

So it could be said that asteroid 2024 YP isn't just the size of nine reindeer, but specifically the size of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, Blixem, and lastly Rudolph. 

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Note that the sleigh, Claus himself, his no doubt asteroid-sized sack of gifts, or Rudolph's red nose are not included in this list. Because I'm Jewish, and Bah Humbug.

Will asteroid 2024 YP hit the Earth?

Christmas time is always a big hit around the world and has a major impact - commercially, that is. But this Christmas asteroid is one gift you won't find under your tree or in your stocking, partially because Claus isn't real, but even more importantly, because it isn't going to hit the Earth. 

Current NASA estimates say asteroid 2024 YP will be flying as close as around 990,000 kilometers from the Earth. In the grand scheme of things, this is very close, as most asteroids don't even get to 1 million kilometers away from Earth. 

But even if it did hit, it's small enough that it wouldn't cause too much damage. So if you're dreaming of a white Christmas - specifically caused by the ash clouds of a catastrophic asteroid impact that could alter weather conditions and result in an apocalyptic winter - you're out of luck, and it will be a regular non-Silent Night. 

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave me: A way to stop an asteroid from hitting the Earth. And a partridge in a pear tree? 

Claus may supposedly know when you're sleeping and know when you're awake, but does he know how to stop an asteroid impact from happening?

No, because he isn't real, and even if he was, he doesn't have years of experience and academic accreditation to qualify him for a career in planetary defense. But there are many scientists who do qualify, and they do know how. Or at least, they're working on it.

In theory, yes, we do have a way to stop an asteroid impact via redirection, as shown when NASA flew a spacecraft into an asteroid to basically crash, and therefore move its orbit ever so slightly that it misses Earth. This was called the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) and it was a success, but practically, it isn't the same as having a ready-made planetary defense array that can actively keep the Earth safe from all asteroid threats.

That's certainly something to put on your Christmas wish list.