Astronomers discovered three previously unknown asteroids that were hiding in the glare of the Sun and one of them is a giant. It is large enough to cause planet-wide destruction if it hit the Earth, but it won't be a threat for a long time.
The search for potentially hazardous asteroids like this one has increased in recent years with multiple ongoing efforts to identify and catalog large space rocks. From twilight observations from the ground to space-based telescopes peering into hard-to- see regions of the sky, these programs are focused on identifying potentially dangerous asteroids. The goal is to make sure that we have the chance to avoid catastrophe if we send an intervention like the recent DART mission. Most of these initiatives don't expect to find a lot of mile-wide asteroids. Medium size asteroids are the biggest unknown threat, according to experts.
There is very little chance of a big asteroid hitting us.
There are a few big asteroids that are undiscovered. According to the lead author of the paper detailing the discovery, there are about 1,000 asteroids one kilometer or larger in size near the Earth. The asteroids are known as planet killers because of the destruction they could cause. The majority of these will stay near the Sun.
The chances of a big asteroid hitting us are very low.
The issue is the slightly smaller asteroids, between 140 meters and one kilometer in size, which, if they impacted the planet, wouldn't disrupt the entire Earth but could cause widespread destruction. Sheppard calls them the city killers.
An impact from one of these could be disastrous. Amy Mainzer, leader of the upcoming NEO Surveyor project that will search for near-Earth objects, says that objects in the 100 to 200 meter range are capable of causing a lot of damage. It's equivalent to a couple hundred megatons of the strongest known substance. That is much larger than the largest nuclear weapon that has ever been used. If the impact is on land or in the sea it will have a different effect than if it is on a densely populated metropolis. The size of the Los Angeles area could be wiped out in the worst-case scenario.
Smaller asteroids are harder to see because of their small size. Most of the time, they're too far away to be seen, and we only get occasional opportunities to see them.
Sometimes asteroids are close to the Sun and other times far away. You need at least three observations to be able to predict the path of an asteroid. Before an asteroid becomes too faint to see, an astronomer will call up colleagues working with other telescopes.
A trio of asteroids were spotted between Earth and Venus, where they are difficult to see due to the glare of the sun. The researchers spotted two other asteroids which will stay away from Earth. Typically, asteroid hunters look away from the Sun, but to look for the inner solar system asteroids, they have to use a 10-minute window at twilight. It is more difficult to spot objects of the same size when looking away from the Sun.
It is similar to when you go out at night and there is no moon. When the Moon is out, it obscures the fainter stars, so you can see more. Something similar happened when trying to spot faint asteroids in the glare of the Sun.
There are space-based missions looking for near- Earth asteroids. The advantage of using these is that they don't have to deal with interference from Earth's atmosphere, but they are also more expensive than using a ground-based telescope.
In order to spot asteroids by their heat signatures, a new telescope will be set for launch in the year 2027. One-third of asteroids have low reflectivity and a dark color that make them difficult to see in visible light, but dark and light asteroids are equally visible in IR. It will be possible to observe objects in different areas of the sky from ground-based telescopes, looking at regions closer to the Sun that would be obscured by the Earth's atmosphere.
It would be great if we found nothing.
Over the course of five years, the mission is expected to find 300,000 near- Earth asteroids. Mainzer thinks it will expand what we know about the population. Mainzer said that they might find nothing, which would be great. That would be the best case we could think of. The mission can still help us learn a lot about the solar system.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will offer a huge boost to our ability to hunt for asteroids by performing a survey that covers the entire southern sky every few nights with a much more powerful telescope than what is currently available.
He doesn't think the Earth will be destroyed anytime soon, but he does think we should be prepared in case an asteroid poses a danger. He doesn't think it's an immediate threat, but he wants to be prepared. There is no threat to the Earth right now. Most of the planet killers have been found and now it is looking for the city killers.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
