Asteroid 2024 JV33 looked like a "peanut" – "with two rounded lobes, one lobe larger than the other", showed a series of images caputured by the Goldstone Solar System Radar near Barstow, California, on August 18, 2024.
Asteroid 2024 JV33 had safely passed Earth at a distance of 2.8M miles (4.6M km) in August. The near-Earth asteroid made its closest approach towards the Earth on August 19.
On the National Peanut Day, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released pictures and video of Asteroid 2024 JV33. These images were captured when the asteroid was at a distance of about 12 times the distance between the Moon and Earth.
The asteroid was discovered by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson, Arizona, on May 4. According to NASA, “...the near-Earth asteroid's shape resembles that of a peanut – with two rounded lobes, one lobe larger than the other.”
"Scientists used the radar images to determine that it is about 980 feet (300 meters) long and that its length is about double its width. Asteroid 2024 JV33 rotates once every seven hours," NASA said.
Besides, Asteroid 2024 JV33 has an elongated orbit similar to that of many comets "that are strongly influenced by the gravity of Jupiter".
"While no comet-like activity has been observed, the possibility remains that the asteroid may be an inactive cometary nucleus, NASA said.
Asteroid 2024 JV33 has been classified as potentially hazardous, but it does not pose a hazard to Earth for the foreseeable future.
