This asteroid can hit the Earth in 2032. Not panic – scientists have a plan.

Meanwhile, researchers have found that the special infrared filters on Multipurpose James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can also be used to find small asteroids and precisely determine their size. With optical lusts of lights that begin to fight when 2024 YR4 fades from the sight, “it seems that JWST would be a great fit,” says Cristina ThomasAn astronomer and planetary defense researcher at Northern Arizona University.

“Asteroids become much brighter in the infrared than in the visible when moving away from the ground, and they are thus easier to detect or trace with infrared facilities – JWST is the largest of all,” says Julien de WitA planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Astronomers – including Rivkin, Farnocchia, Thomas and De Wit – quickly made a proposal Request for JWST’s use to refine the size of 2024 YR4 and help secure its monitoring. On February 5, they received a green light, and now the most expensive space observatory you will be used for planetary defense purposes.

The notion that there is even the slightest chance that 2024 YR4 can jeopardize us can create some anxiety. But thanks to the planetary defenders in NASA, ESA and beyond, the world has never been more secure from dangerous asteroids – and with continued investments in their staff and technology, all eight billion of us will remain protected in future generations.