Webb telescope ups the odds that ‘city-killer’ asteroid will hit the moon in 2032

Beschreibung:

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has completed its latest observations of asteroid 2024 YR4, a building‑sized space rock that poses no threat to Earth but may strike the moon. New data from JWST has refined the asteroid’s trajectory, raising the chance of a lunar impact on December 22, 2032, to 4.3%. Originally discovered in December 2024, the asteroid once had a small chance of hitting Earth, but that risk has now been ruled out. A moon impact would create a crater without affecting Earth, offering a rare scientific opportunity to study such an event, Live Science has reported. The asteroid will return near Earth in 2028 for further observation.