NASA's Webb to track asteroid with small chance of hitting Moon
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is tracking asteroid 2024 YR4, first spotted in December 2024.
At first, there were worries it might hit Earth in December 2032, but that's been ruled out.
Now, scientists say there's a small 4.1% chance it could hit the Moon on that date instead.
Webb will observe asteroid twice
JWST will point its powerful infrared vision at the asteroid on February 17 and again on February 26, 2026.
Asteroids show up much brighter in infrared than visible light, so JWST can measure their size more accurately—studies have found diameter constraints of about 10-20%.
That's way better than older methods that could be off by a lot.
Data will help in planetary defense
Data from JWST doesn't just help with this one rock—it sharpens our ability to predict where thousands of near-Earth asteroids are headed.
Knowing their size (this one's about 53-67 meters across) and orbits helps scientists plan how to protect Earth if anything ever really threatens us.