NASA's Webb confirms asteroid won't hit Moon in 2032
Good news, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has confirmed that asteroid 2024 YR4 will not hit the Moon in 2032.
After checking it out in February, scientists found it will safely zoom by, missing the Moon by over 21,000km.
What was once a small chance of impact is now zero.
YR4 was discovered in late 2024
Webb extended our tracking of this space rock by nine months past May 2025.
Discovered in late 2024 in Chile by the ATLAS survey station, YR4 is ridiculously faint, about 4 billion times dimmer than what you can see with your eyes.
To spot it, scientists used Webb's Near-Infrared Camera and ESA's Gaia star map to nail down its path more precisely.
Webb also revealed that YR4 is a rocky little guy
Besides confirming we are safe, Webb also revealed that YR4 is a rocky little guy about 60 meters (roughly the height of a 15-story building).
The way it reflects light helped researchers learn more about how to track and study future asteroids, pretty cool for planetary defense!