The JWST wasn't built to detect dangerous asteroids. But new research shows how effective it can be by detecting more than 100 new ones.

Astronomers have used JWST to scan the Main Asteroid Belt located between Mars and Jupiter, finding the smallest ever seen in that region. During their short time with JWST, they turned up 139 new asteroids, which range in size from 10 to 500 meters across. The size of asteroids showed an interesting pattern, with a break in size at around the 100-meter mark. This suggests that small asteroids are constantly smashing, creating smaller rubble.