НАСА привлекает Уэбба для отслеживания опасного астероида

Faced with the (very low probability) threat of a collision with an approaching asteroid, НАСА is pulling out the big guns. The agency буду использовать its powerful Webb Space Telescope to observe the recently discovered asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a small probability of colliding with Earth in 2032.

According to current estimates, the probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with the Earth on December 22, 2032 is 2.1%. While the odds are still on our side, there are currently no other known large asteroids with a collision probability above 1%, according to NASA. The space agency tends to take these issues quite seriously, which is why it plans to collect additional observations of the space rock using the Webb Space Telescope in March to refine current estimates, NASA said in a recent update.

The Asteroid Impactor Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile detected the asteroid on December 27, 2024. Shortly after the discovery, the probability of an asteroid colliding with the Earth was set at 1.3%. However, additional observations have increased the probability of an asteroid colliding with the Earth to 2.3% as of yesterday, and this morning it has slightly decreased to 2.1%. These chances are preliminary, and further observations of the asteroid are essential.

When it was first spotted, asteroid 2024 YR4 was at a distance of 515,116 miles (829,000 kilometers) from Earth. Unfortunately, the space rock is moving away from us, and its next close approach will not occur until December 2028. Ground-based telescopes of the International Asteroid Warning Network are currently tracking the asteroid and will continue to do so until April. After that, according to NASA, it will be too faint to observe until June 2028. That’s why