Discovered a “hidden” asteroid that could one day cross the Earth’s orbit

Astronomers have discovered three asteroids hidden in the sun’s glow. One is 1.5 kilometers wide and may be close to Earth in the distant future.

2022 AP7, as the asteroid is called, is the largest “potentially dangerous” space rock found in eight years. In its current orbit, the object will remain several million miles from Earth’s orbit, said Scott Sheppard, leader of the Carnegie Institution for Science team of astronomers. That orbit can change due to the influence of the sun and planets, increasing the chances of a collision, but if that happens, it will take ages.

The asteroid is one of three discovered by an international team of astronomers using Dark Energy (DECam) cameras at the Victor M. Blanco Telescope in Chile. This made it possible to search for a part of the sky that was difficult to examine due to its proximity to the sun. . The other two discovered objects remain in Earth’s orbit and pose no threat.

From Earth, AP7 of 2022 is only observable shortly after sunset or before sunrise. A further difficulty is that asteroids are only visible low above the horizon. Astronomers must look through a thick layer of the atmosphere that obscures their vision.

Sheppard expects more asteroids of this size to be in similar and elusive orbits. “So far, only about 25 asteroids with orbits within Earth’s have been discovered because it is so difficult to observe the glare of the sun.”

Astronomers have been searching the sky for potentially dangerous objects for decades. According to the models, more than 90 percent of the “planet killer” objects (larger than 1 kilometer) have now been mapped. Of the slightly smaller space rocks (larger than 140 meters) that can approach Earth, probably only half are known.

In late September, NASA conducted its first test to alter the orbit of the small asteroid Dimorphos by launching a space probe that travels at around 20,000 kilometers per hour. in which to fly. That test proved to be a success: the collision shortened Dimorphos’ orbit by 32 minutes. According to NASA, this shows that such a mission is a viable way to one day deflect a space rock that is on a collision course with Earth.