Latest news with #Near-InfraredCamera
Time of India
4 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Moon at risk? Asteroid the size of Leaning Tower of Pisa might not hit Earth, but odds of it striking the Moon have just increased
In December 2024, astronomers discovered asteroid 2024 YR4 , a space rock that routinely crosses Earth's orbit. Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in May 2024 have refined the asteroid's trajectory, revealing a slightly increased chance of a lunar impact on December 22, 2032, now at 4.3%. While there is no risk of the asteroid impacting Earth in the foreseeable future, scientists are closely monitoring its path and welcome a potential lunar impact as a valuable learning opportunity. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is estimated to be between 174 and 220 feet in diameter. This is about the size of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Early projections indicated a potential Earth collision in 2032, with impact odds peaking at 3.1% in February. Subsequent observations with JWST and ground-based telescopes reduced the Earth impact probability to zero. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chula Vista: Stunning New 2-Bed Senior Apartments (Take A Peek Inside) Senior Apartments | Search Ads Click Here Undo The probability of a lunar impact, however, has increased. The initial JWST imaging in March reported a 3.8% chance of a lunar collision. "As data comes in, it is normal for the impact probability to evolve," NASA representatives wrote in the statement. Live Events The asteroid was observed by JWST's Near-Infrared Camera in May. These observations allowed scientists to calculate the space rock's trajectory with greater precision. The range of possible locations for 2024 YR4 on Dec. 22, 2032, has decreased as NASA gained more data. This improved the certainty of the asteroid's position. If an asteroid of this size were to impact Earth, it could cause significant damage. It could wipe out a city with the equivalent force of 500 Hiroshima bombs. A collision with the moon would create a new crater. However, it would not be devastating to Earth's satellite. Some scientists view a lunar impact as a positive event. It would provide a valuable opportunity to study asteroid impact prediction. "We've got our fingers crossed for a moon impact," Alan Fitzsimmons , a physics and math professor at Queen's University Belfast in the U.K. who was not involved in the JWST observations, told New Scientist in March. "It would have no effect on Earth, but would allow us to study the formation of a lunar crater by a known asteroid for the very first time." The asteroid is currently moving toward the outer solar system. It is beyond the view of Earth-based telescopes.
India Today
13-06-2025
- Science
- India Today
James Webb Telescope captures tiny galaxies that reveal big secret
Using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have identified dozens of small, starburst galaxies that played a pivotal role in transforming the early universe during a period known as cosmic tiny galaxies, though small in size, emitted powerful ultraviolet light that helped clear the fog of neutral hydrogen gas enveloping the universe's first billion years, enabling the universe to become transparent and evolve into its current discovery, presented by Isak Wold, an assistant research scientist at Catholic University of America and Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center, was made possible by the unprecedented sensitivity of JWST's instruments, particularly the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec). The team analysed images from the UNCOVER observing program, which focused on the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2744, also known as Pandora's cluster. This cluster's immense gravity acts as a natural lens, magnifying distant galaxies and extending Webb's observational reach about 4 billion light-years galaxies identified date back to when the universe was roughly 800 million years old, an epoch astronomers call redshift this time, vigorous star formation episodes—starbursts—occurred in these low-mass galaxies, producing intense ultraviolet radiation. This radiation ionised the surrounding hydrogen gas by stripping electrons from atoms, a process essential for the universe's transition from opaque to researchers detected a distinctive green emission line from doubly ionised oxygen, originally visible light stretched into the infrared spectrum due to cosmic expansion, confirming the presence of these energetic processes. The project mapped a giant galaxy cluster known as Abell 2744, nicknamed Pandora's cluster. (Photo: Nasa) 'These galaxies punch well above their weight,' said Wold. To build a galaxy with the stellar mass of our Milky Way, one would need between 2,000 and 200,000 of these small galaxies. Yet, their abundance and ultraviolet output are sufficient to account for the entire reionisation process, assuming they release ultraviolet light at efficiencies similar to comparable galaxies in the present finding sheds light on a longstanding cosmic mystery about what powered reionisation, emphasising the outsised role of small, star-forming galaxies in shaping the universe's early James Webb Space Telescope continues to revolutionise our understanding of cosmic history by revealing the building blocks of galaxies from the dawn of timeMust Watch
Daily Mirror
12-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Mirror
NASA astronomers say it's now 'more likely' asteroid YR4 could hit the Moon
It was initially feared the asteroid would hit Earth, but the odds of a moonstrike have now been increased An asteroid scientists feared would cause havoc by striking the Earth in the year 2032 now has an increased likelihood of hitting the Moon. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is currently too distant to detect with telescopes from Earth, but NASA's James Webb Space Telescope collected one more observation of the asteroid before it escaped from view in its orbit around the Sun. With the additional data, experts from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California further refined the asteroid's orbit. The Webb data improved our knowledge of where the asteroid will be on 22 December 22, 2032, by nearly 20%. As a result, the asteroid's probability of impacting the Moon has slightly increased from 3.8% to 4.3%. In the small chance that the asteroid were to impact, it would not alter the Moon's orbit. When asteroid 2024 YR4 was first discovered, the asteroid had a small chance of impacting Earth. After more observations, NASA concluded the object poses no significant impact risk to Earth in 2032 and beyond. As additional data comes in, it is normal for the impact probability to evolve. An international team led by Dr. Andy Rivkin from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, made the observations using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera in May. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is now too far away to observe with either space or ground-based telescopes. NASA expects to make further observations when its orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of Earth in 2028.
Daily Record
10-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
NASA issues major update on 'city-killer' asteroid 2024's chance of crashing into the Moon
If the asteroid was on track to smash into our planet in 2032, its impact would be devastating for humanity NASA has raised the odds that a massive asteroid, about the size of a 10-storey building, could collide with Earth's Moon. Asteroid 2024 YR4, discovered in December 2024, initially posed a potential risk to Earth in 2032. However, recent updates from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies indicate an increased likelihood that it could strike the Moon instead. And now, the space agency has revealed whether it could disrupt the Moon's orbit. While asteroid 2024 YR4 is currently too distant to detect with telescopes from Earth, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope collected one more observation of the asteroid before it escaped from view in its orbit around the Sun. With the additional data, experts got greater insight into where the rock - as big as London's Big Ben - will be on December 22, 2032, by nearly 20 per cent. As a result, the asteroid's probability of impacting the Moon has increased from 3.8 per cent to 4.3 per cent. While this still leaves a 95.7 percent chance of the asteroid missing the Moon, the small possibility of a collision has caught scientists' attention. Despite the risk, in the small chance that the asteroid were to impact, it would not alter the Moon's orbit. When asteroid 2024 YR4 was first discovered, it had a small chance of impacting Earth. After more observations, NASA concluded the object poses no significant impact risk to Earth in 2032 and beyond. As is common with asteroid predictions, the chances of an impact often fluctuate, rising and falling as new data emerges. To that end, it is normal for the impact probability to evolve, NASA assured. The 100-metre wide rock once had a 3.1 per cent probability of colliding with Earth on December 22, 2032, potentially leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. If the asteroid was on track to smack into our planet in 2032, its impact would be catastrophic. The energy released could be equivalent to eight megatons of TNT, destroying an area the size of Washington, DC. An eight-megaton explosion would be over 500 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War Two, which had a yield of approximately 15 kilotons (0.015 megatons). NASA was reportedly concerned at one point that the probability of the asteroid hitting Earth might surpass the 20 per cent threshold at one point. In February, the huge space rock's were reduced from an earlier estimate of 131-295 feet (40-90 metres) to a more accurate range of 174-220 feet (53-67 metres) - roughly the size of a 10-storey building. An international team led by Dr. Andy Rivkin from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, made the most recent observations using Webb's Near-Infrared Camera in May. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is now too far away to observe with either space or ground-based telescopes. NASA expects to make further observations when the asteroid's orbit around the Sun brings it back into the vicinity of Earth in 2028. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Euronews
15-05-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Stunning new James Webb images capture Jupiter's 'northern lights'
Auroras on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth, new images from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed. The solar system's largest planet displays striking dancing lights when high-energy particles from space collide with atoms of gas in the atmosphere near its magnetic poles, similar to how the aurora borealis, or the Northern lights, are triggered on Earth. But Jupiter's version has much greater intensity, according to an international team of scientists who analysed the photos from Webb taken on Christmas in 2023. Webb previously captured Neptune's glowing auroras in the best detail yet, many decades after they were first faintly detected during a flyby of the Voyager 2 spacecraft. Auroras on Earth are caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with gases and atoms in the atmosphere near the planet's poles, causing streaks of dancing light in the sky. On Jupiter, additional factors are at play other than solar wind. High-energy particles are also drawn from other sources, including Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. Jupiter's large magnetic field then accelerates these particles to tremendous speeds, hundreds of times faster than the auroras on Earth. The particles slam into the planet's atmosphere, causing gases to glow. James Webb has been able to give more details about how they are formed on Jupiter due to its unique capabilities. The new data and images were captured with its Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) on December 25, 2023, by a team of scientists led by Jonathan Nichols from the UK's University of Leicester. "What a Christmas present it was – it just blew me away!" said Nichols. "We wanted to see how quickly the auroras change, expecting them to fade in and out ponderously, perhaps over a quarter of an hour or so. Instead, we observed the whole auroral region fizzing and popping with light, sometimes varying by the second". The findings were published on Monday in the journal Nature Communications.
