The “planet murderer” and two additional near-Earth asteroids have been discovered by a cutting-edge instrument.
Researchers have discovered three massive asteroids that were previously unnoticed by the Sun’s glare. One of these asteroids is potentially a “planet killer” that could pose a threat for the Earth. The Astronomical Journal published a report Monday on the discoveries, describing three near Earth asteroids (NEA), discovered in Chile with a Dark Energy Camera.
The asteroid 2022 AP7 measures 1.5 kilometres in width (0.9 miles). It has an orbit that could bring it into Earth’s field of vision, but it is unknown when.
“The asteroids can be found within the orbits Earth and Venus. However, they are extremely difficult to observe due to the brightness of Venus.
Astronomers took advantage of the brief window of light to see the stars and avoided the sun’s glare. The Dark Energy Camera, located at the Cerro tololo Interamerican Observatory in Chile, was used by an international team to spot the space rocks.
Scott S. Sheppard (an astronomer at Earth and Planets Laboratory, Carnegie Institution for Science) is the lead author of this paper. “So far we’ve found two large near Earth asteroids, each measuring about 1 km in diameter. These are what we call planet-killers.”
of the US says that it is difficult to find asteroids in our inner Solar System. This area is only accessible to astronomers for a 10-minute window each night. Astronomers also have to contend the bright background due to the Sun’s glare. Also, these observations are very close to the horizon. Therefore, astronomers must view through thick layers Earth’s atmosphere that can blur and distort what they see.
