Webb Space Telescope captures photos of asteroid that caused a stir
Discovered late last year, the asteroid 2024 YR4 was predicted at one point to have a 3% chance of smacking Earth in 2032.
The Webb Space Telescope has captured pictures of the asteroid that caused a stir earlier this year when it topped Earth’s hit list.
Discovered late last year, the asteroid 2024 YR4 was predicted at one point to have a 3% chance of smacking Earth in 2032.
Additional observations prompted scientists to reduce the threat to virtually zero, where it remains.
But there is a slight chance it could hit the Moon then.
The asteroid swings our way every four years.
Nasa and the European Space Agency released the photos – showing the asteroid as a fuzzy dot – on Wednesday.
Webb confirmed the asteroid is nearly 200ft (60 metres) across, or about the height of a 15-storey building, according to the two space agencies.
It is the smallest object ever observed by the observatory, the biggest and most powerful ever sent into space.
Johns Hopkins University astronomer Andrew Rivkin said the observations by Webb served as “invaluable” practice for other asteroids that may threaten us down the road.
Ground telescopes have also tracked this particular space rock over the past few months.
All this “gives us a window to understand what other objects the size of 2024 YR4 are like, including the next one that might be heading our way”, Mr Rivkin, who helped with the observations, said in a statement.
