He Webb Space Telescope He has captured images of the asteroid that caused a stir earlier this year when he headed the list of threats for the land.
Discovered at the end of last year, it was predicted at a time that the Asteroid 2024 YR4 It had a 3% probability of impacting the earth in 2032. Additional observations led scientists to reduce the threat to practically zero, where it remains. However, there is a slight possibility that the moon can impact at that time. The asteroid approaches us every four years.
The POT and the European Space Agency They published the photos – which show the asteroid as a blurred point – on Wednesday. Webb confirmed that the asteroid has almost 200 feet wide, or approximately the height of a 15 -story buildingaccording to the two space agencies. It is the smallest object ever observed by the Observatory, the largest and powerful ever sent to space.
Andrew Rivkinastronomer from Johns Hopkins University, he said that Webb’s observations served as a “invaluable” practice for other asteroids that can threaten us in the future. Terrestrial telescopes have also followed this particular space rock in recent months.
All this “gives us a window to understand how other 2024 YR4 size objects are, including the next one that could go to us,” said Rivkin, who helped with the observations, in a statement.