‘Planet killer’ asteroids detected after being hidden by sun’s brightness
- The biggest asteroid is the most hazardous object to prompt a significant risk to Earth in the last eight years, researchers say
- The discovery highlights a dangerous blind spot: it’s hard to see anything coming from the direction of the sun
Astronomers have detected three asteroids in proximity to Earth, two of which pose a potential threat as “planet killers” because of their larger and hazardous size, but don’t worry, says a Nasa expert, they aren’t expected to hurt us.
According to findings published in the peer-reviewed Astronomical Journal on Monday, the three asteroids - which belong to a group found within the orbits of Earth and Venus - were previously undetectable via telescope due to the glare and brightness of the sun.
However, an international space team of astronomers waited until twilight at an observatory in Chile to examine the asteroids using a dark energy camera from a Victor Blanco 4-metre Telescope, according to the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab.
The biggest asteroid is the most hazardous object to prompt a significant risk to Earth in the last eight years, researchers say.
One of the asteroids, named 2022 AP7, is a little less than one mile wide but has an orbit that could reach Earth’s path in the distant future. A timetable is uncertain, though, according to findings in the journal.
The other two asteroids, 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, pose less of a risk to colliding with Earth, researchers say.