THE SMALLEST MAIN-BELT ASTEROID DETECTED BY JWST

A study conducted by the researchers using data from calibration of MRI- Mid-InfraRed Instrument detected an interloping asteroid. The research study published in journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics" revealed the detection of a small irregular shaped grey asteroid by NASA using James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). An international team of European astronomers detected an unknown asteroid of length about 300 to 650 feet using NASA/CSA/ESA JWST.

The detected object is suspected to be the smallest asteroid detected by Webb Telescope in the main-belt. This discovery adds to the information about the evolution of solar system. The asteroid is located between Mars and Jupiter, yet further observations are required for exact characterization of properties and nature of the asteroid. It is roughly the size of about 100 to 200 meters, located in inner main-belt area, with a low inclination orbit.



Thomas Müller, an astronomer at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany, elaborated:

"Our results show that even 'failed' Webb observations can be scientifically useful, if you have the right mindset and a little bit of luck. Our detection lies in the main asteroid belt, but Webb's incredible sensitivity made it possible to see this roughly 100-meter object at a distance of more than 100 million kilometers."

The studies confirmed the presence of extremely very small sizes asteroids, but there are still some difficulties to study them in more detail. In future, the observations from Webb Telescope will enable the astronomers to study asteroids smaller than 1 kilometer in size, including all the required information to refine the models of the solar system's formation.



The newly discovered asteriod roughly the size of Rome's Colosseum — 300 to 650 feet (100 to 200 meters) in length — by an international team of European astronomers using NASA/CSA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).






Thomas Müller explained:

"We—completely unexpectedly—detected a small asteroid in publicly available MIRI calibration observations. The measurements are some of the first MIRI measurements targeting the ecliptic plane and our work suggests that many, new objects will be detected with this instrument."

Astronomers are currently aware of more than 1.1 million of the asteroids and small rocky bodies located in the solar system. This is due the unpredicted aptitude of James Webb Space Telescope to explore such small objects at infrared wavelengths. This ability of JWST may lead to more groundbreaking new science discoveries.



This discovery reveals that Webb telescope will be able to detect many more asteroids using MRI data. Also, there's a need to confirm the detected object. In this regard more data is required to constrain its orbit.