Speaker
Description
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) proved that it is capable of achieving planetary defense objectives via its targeted follow-up observations of the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2024 YR4. The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) were used to study 2024 YR4 and better constrain its (1) orbit, (2) size, and (3) rotation light curve. Each of these objectives required different, non-default data products. For instance, the JWST observations were made while tracking on the NEA, but the default calibration products removed the cores of the stellar PSFs. However, astrometric measurements required intact star streaks, so the JWST pipeline was run locally with the “cosmic ray rejection” step turned off. Additional effort was required to correctly determine the time when the target was observed, due to the non-destructive, up-the-ramp sampling nature of the JWST detectors. Determining the diameter of 2024 YR4 required completely different data products where all dithers were combined, fully eliminating the star streaks and leaving behind only the target. For the rotation light curve studies, individual integrations within a dither, which are combined by default, were broken out and processed separately to increase temporal sampling. The processes for creating all of these different “flavors” of data are now in place and ready to run immediately following future JWST observations of NEAs that pose a threat to Earth. In this talk I will focus on the flexibility of the JWST data to meet all of these needs simultaneously, which arises from the way that the detectors operate. Pitfalls and workarounds will also be discussed, since this flexibility naturally comes hand-in-hand with additional complexity.
