Webb Telescope detects new population of small Main Belt Asteroids

Webb Telescope detects new population of small Main Belt Asteroids

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 23, 2024 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has expanded its role in solar system research, revealing a previously undetectable population of small asteroids within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used Webb's observations of the star TRAPPIST-1 to identify 138 new asteroids ranging in size from a bus to a stadium. These

NASA’s Webb Reveals Smallest Asteroids Yet Found in Main Asteroid Belt

Illustration of the main asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun between Mars and JupiterNASA NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope includes asteroids on its list of objects studied and secrets revealed.  A team led by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge repurposed Webb’s observations of a distant star to reveal a population of small asteroids — smaller than astronomers had ever detected orbiting the Sun in t…

James Webb Telescope Reveals Over 100 New Asteroids—And Some Are Headed Straight for Earth

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has uncovered a hidden population of over 100 new asteroids in the main asteroid belt, located between Jupiter and Mars. Among them, a few are on trajectories that bring them uncomfortably close to Earth, raising the stakes for planetary defense and asteroid tracking. This groundbreaking discovery demonstrates how innovative analysis of JWST data is reshaping our understanding of the solar system. The Smalle…