On August 18, 2024, the Goldstone Solar System Radar, located near Barstow, California, captured a series of radar images of asteroid 2024 JV33 as it neared Earth. At the time of observation, the asteroid was 2.8 million miles (4.6 million kilometers) away—approximately 12 times the distance between the Moon and Earth.
Discovered by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Arizona, on May 4, the asteroid is notably shaped like a peanut, with two distinct lobes, one larger than the other. Radar imaging revealed that 2024 JV33 is about 980 feet (300 meters) long and twice as long as it is wide. It completes a rotation every seven hours.
Radar technology is pivotal in identifying such “contact binary” asteroids. The Goldstone radar, part of NASA’s Deep Space Network, has imaged dozens of these objects. Notably, about 14% of near-Earth asteroids larger than 660 feet (200 meters) are contact binaries. With an elongated orbit similar to many comets, influenced by Jupiter’s gravity, 2024 JV33 might be an inactive cometary nucleus, although no comet-like activity has been observed.
Despite being classified as potentially hazardous, 2024 JV33 does not pose any immediate threat to Earth. The recent radar measurements have significantly refined our understanding of its distance and trajectory for decades to come.
The Goldstone Solar System Radar Group is supported by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations Program and managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The Deep Space Network, overseen by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program office, plays a crucial role in planetary radar observations.
For more details on planetary radar and near-Earth objects, visit: NASA JPL Asteroid Watch.