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JWST Observations of Potentally Hazardous Asteroid 2024 YR4The destructive power of an impacting asteroid is primarily estimated by knowledge of its size. Asteroid 2024 YR4 reached a peak 2032 impact probability with Earth of 3%, motivating a desire to determine its size. Owing to its infrared capabilities, JWST is uniquely suited for such assessment, especially for decameter-scale objects. We used JWST to observe 2024 YR4 and find a diameter of 60 ± 7 m. This size range corresponds to an albedo for 2024 YR4 of 8%–18%, consistent with observation that it is an S-type asteroid (International Asteroid Warning Network, if at the low-albedo end of that asteroid taxon. Future observations through 2025 May will help further refine the asteroid's thermophysical model.
Document ID
20250003212
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
A S Rivkin (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory North Laurel, United States)
T Mueller (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg, Germany)
E MacLennan ORCID(University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland)
B Holler (Space Telescope Science Institute Baltimore, United States)
A Burdanov ORCID(Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, United States)
J de Wit (Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, United States)
P Pravec (Ondrejov Observatory)
M Micheli ORCID(European Space Agency Paris, France)
M Devogele (European Space Agency Paris, France)
L Conversi (European Space Agency Paris, France)
C A Thomas (Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, United States)
D Farnocchia (Jet Propulsion Laboratory La Cañada Flintridge, United States)
J L Dotson (Ames Research Center Mountain View, United States)
L Wheeler (Ames Research Center Mountain View, United States)
H Hammel (Association of Universities For Research In Astronomy Washington, United States)
S N Milam (Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, United States)
J de León ORCID(Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias Tenerife, Spain)
A Glantzberg (Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory North Laurel, United States)
Date Acquired
March 31, 2025
Publication Date
April 1, 2025
Publication Information
Publication: Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society (RNAAS)
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Volume: 9
Issue: 4
e-ISSN: 2515-5172
DOI: 10.3847/2515-5172/adc6f0
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS 5-03127
WBS: 80NM0018D0004
WBS: 582622.02.01.02.45.01.01
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Portions of document may include copyright protected material.
Technical Review
External Peer Committee
Keywords
thermophysical
S-Type Asteroid
Asteroid 2024 YR4
Infrared
Asteroid
James Webb
James Webb Space Telescope
JWST

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