HOW’S THAT SPACE PROGRAM COMING ALONG: NASA catches a glimpse of ‘city-killer’ asteroid before it disappears until 2028.

Astronomers are watching 2024 YR4 closely, trying to learn everything they can before it disappears from view by mid-April, Kelly Fast, a planetary defense officer at NASA, told ABC News earlier this year. Its unique elongated orbit takes the asteroid around the sun and into Earth’s vicinity before it ventures far out between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and out of sight, Fast said.

NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies used the James Webb Space Telescope — the largest, most powerful telescope ever launched into space — to capture photos of the asteroid, the space agency announced on Wednesday.

New infrared observations indicate that the asteroid measures between 174 feet and 220 feet in diameter — about the size of the 10-story [sic] building, according to NASA. While it is not forecast to strike Earth in 2032, the asteroid now has a 1.7% probability of hitting the moon at that time, the space agency said.

Luna takes a lot of hits for Team Earth.