Webb observations rule out 2024 YR4 lunar impact in 2032

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently made new observations of asteroid 2024 YR4, which was already known to pose no significant threat to Earth in 2032 and beyond. Webb’s measurements, taken under a Director’s Discretionary Time program led by Andy Rivkin and Julien de Wit, refined the asteroid’s orbit and show it will safely pass the Moon in 2032.

The asteroid is exceedingly faint now, reflecting about as much light as an almond at the distance of the Moon and glowing at a magnitude of about 30—roughly 4 billion times fainter than the faintest star visible to the unaided eye. Webb is the only observatory with the combination of sensitivity, stability and precise moving-target tracking needed to follow 2024 YR4 before 2028, allowing several hour-long exposures in which the asteroid did not move a pixel.

Accurate orbit prediction depends on precise positions and a longer observational arc.

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