Astronomers spot a huge ‘planet killer’ asteroid between Earth and Venus

By Georgina Torbet October 31, 2022

In sinister news for a spooky day, astronomers announced that they have spotted a huge asteroid nearly a mile wide thst could one day intersect with Earth’s path. The asteroid, along with two others, had been hiding in the glare from the sun, but was spotted using an Earth-based instrument called the Dark Energy Camera (DECam).

The three asteroids orbit between the orbits of Earth and Venus, but only the largest has an orbit that comes close to Earth’s orbit. This one, named 2022 AP7, is the largest potentially hazardous asteroid discovered in eight years.

Twilight observations with the US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera at NOIRLab’s Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile have enabled astronomers to spot three near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) hiding in the glare of the Sun. These NEAs are part of an elusive population that lurks inside the orbits of Earth and Venus. One of the asteroids is the largest object that is potentially hazardous to Earth to be discovered in the last eight years. — Twilight observations conducted using the Dark Energy Camera have enabled astronomers to spot three near-Earth asteroids hiding in the glare of the sun. DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine

The astronomers were able to spot these asteroids by looking during twilight hours, when there is a short period in which they can observe with less glare from the sun. The observations were taken as part of a survey looking for asteroids in the inner solar system, which are difficult to view because of the sun’s brightness.

Recommended Videos

“Our twilight survey is scouring the area within the orbits of Earth and Venus for asteroids,” lead researcher Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science explained in a statement. “So far, we have found two large near-Earth asteroids that are about 1 kilometer across, a size that we call planet killers.”

As alarming as the term “potentially hazardous asteroid” sounds, you don’t need to start panicking yet. An asteroid given this classification is one that comes close to Earth — in this case 0.05 times the distance between the Earth and the sun. But based on current observations, the asteroid won’t make any close approaches to Earth any time soon.

Observations of asteroids that come close to Earth are getting more common as we develop better tools for detecting them, but there likely aren’t many very large asteroids left to find because these are relatively easy to spot.

“There are likely only a few NEAs with similar sizes left to find, and these large undiscovered asteroids likely have orbits that keep them interior to the orbits of Earth and Venus most of the time,” said Sheppard. “Only about 25 asteroids with orbits completely within Earth’s orbit have been discovered to date because of the difficulty of observing near the glare of the sun.”

The research is published in The Astronomical Journal.

Topics

Tech News

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

NASA has collected a whopping 121 grams of sample from asteroid Bennu

A view of eight sample trays containing the final material from asteroid Bennu. The dust and rocks were poured into the trays from the top plate of the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) head. 51.2 grams were collected from this pour, bringing the final mass of asteroid sample to 121.6 grams.

When the OSIRIS-REx dropped a capsule in the Utah desert last year, it made headlines around the globe for returning NASA's first sample of an asteroid to Earth. Scientists were eager to get their hands on the sample of asteroid Bennu to learn about the early formation of the solar system, but actually getting at the sample proved to be rather trickier than imagined.

Scientists were able to extract 70 grams of material from the sample canister relatively easily, making it by far the largest asteroid sample ever brought to Earth, but two troublesome fasteners made it difficult to extract the rest of the sample. The team knew it had plenty more sample inside, but it had to be patient as special new tools were constructed that could undo the fasteners without losing a single gram of the precious sample.

Space

Astronomers discover a super-Earth located in the habitable zone

This illustration shows one way that planet TOI-715 b, a super-Earth in the habitable zone around its star, might appear to a nearby observer.

Astronomers have discovered a type of exoplanet called a "super-Earth" located in the habitable zone of its small star, and it's right in our cosmic backyard, just 137 light-years away. The planet, named TOI-715 b, is intriguing to astronomers who are increasingly interested in the possibility of habitable planets orbiting stars quite different from our sun.

Although it might seem to make sense to look for potentially habitable planets when looking for Earth-like planets orbiting sun-like stars, those aren't the only targets that astronomers are interested in. One issue is that most discovered exoplanets are much larger than Earth, partly because it is so hard to detect smaller planets. Another issue is that the most common star in our galaxy by far is not a yellow dwarf star like our sun, but a smaller, dimmer, redder type called a red dwarf. When researchers discover rocky planets orbiting around red dwarfs, a few of which have been identified to date, that increases the pool of potentially habitable worlds that could be out there.

Space

NASA automated system predicts asteroid impact over Germany

This map shows the location where the small asteroid 2024 BX1 harmlessly impacted Earth’s atmosphere over Germany, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) west of Berlin, on Jan. 21. A NASA system called Scout predicted the impact time and site within 1 second and about 330 feet (100 meters).

Earth is frequently bombarded by small asteroids, which burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere. However, identifying and tracking these asteroids is an important step in protecting the Earth against the threat of larger and potentially more dangerous impacts. NASA recently predicted the impact of a small asteroid that struck Germany using its impact prediction system, Scout.

"A small asteroid about 3 feet (1 meter) in size disintegrated harmlessly over Germany on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 1:32 a.m. local time (CET)," NASA wrote in an update. "At 95 minutes before it impacted Earth’s atmosphere, NASA’s Scout impact hazard assessment system, which monitors data on potential asteroid discoveries, gave advance warning as to where and when the asteroid would impact. This is the eighth time in history that a small Earth-bound asteroid has been detected while still in space, before entering and disintegrating in our atmosphere."