NASA Confirms Asteroid 2024 YR4 Will Safely Pass the Moon in 2032
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope confirm that asteroid 2024 YR4 will pass safely by the Moon in December 2032, eliminating previous concerns of a potential collision.
Recent observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed that asteroid 2024 YR4 will safely pass by the Moon on December 22, 2032, at a distance of approximately 13,200 miles (21,200 kilometers).
Discovered in late 2024 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Chile, the asteroid measures about 200 feet (60 meters) in diameter. Initial calculations indicated a 4.3% chance of the asteroid impacting the Moon.
The recent Webb observations, conducted on February 18 and 26, 2026, allowed scientists to refine the asteroid's trajectory, effectively ruling out any possibility of a lunar collision. This update reflects improved precision in understanding the asteroid's expected position in 2032 rather than a change in its orbital path.
While a direct collision would not have posed a danger to Earth, scientists had noted that debris from such an impact could potentially interfere with satellites used for navigation and communications.
The observation team, led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, utilized Webb's capabilities to capture these critical observations, marking some of the faintest asteroid detections ever recorded.