Seattle (Lampost.co) – Astronomers observe large asteroids using the Dark Energy Camera. The 1.5 kilometer wide asteroid is the largest Near Earth (NEA) asteroid discovered since 2014.
Its orbit is in a path that intersects with the Earth’s orbit. However, the Earth will be safe on the other side of the Sun when that happens. A model that should last for hundreds of years.
Launched by ABC News, November 3, 2022, the asteroid was seen in the region within the orbits of Earth and Venus. The region is notoriously difficult to observe because asteroid researchers have to compete with sunlight.
The results, along with the discovery of two other asteroids that did not collide with Earth, were published on Monday, October 31, 2022 in the Astronomical Journal.
“Our twilight survey explores areas within the orbits of the Earth and Venus in search of asteroids,” said Scott S Sheppard, astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science Earth and Planetarium Laboratory and lead author of the paper.
According to the study authors, if an asteroid of that size hits Earth, it will experience sunlight and cause a mass extinction event.
Fortunately for Earthlings, the chances of a collision are slim as Earth will be on the opposite side of the Sun when 22AP7 is expected to enter the planet’s orbit. Astronomers predict that this pattern will continue for centuries. The asteroid takes five years to complete one orbit around the sun.
The other asteroids, named 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, have orbits that remain safe within Earth’s orbit.
“There are likely only a few NEAs of similar size to be discovered, and these large undiscovered asteroids likely have orbits that keep them in the orbits of Earth and Venus most of the time,” Sheppard said.
While PH27 2021 does not pose a direct threat to the Earth. This is scientifically interesting because the rock is the closest known asteroid to the Sun.
Therefore, during the part of its orbit closest to the Sun, the rock’s surface becomes hot enough to melt lead.
EDITOR
Efran Kurniawan
