Astronomers have discovered three near-Earth asteroids that were previously unnoticed due to the sun’s brightness. The dangerous object that has posed a risk to Earth in the past eight years is one of the asteroids. A planet killer is an asteroid that is larger than 1 kilometer. The asteroids are part of a group that circles Earth and Venus. The brilliance of the sun, however, prevents telescope studies of them, making them exceedingly challenging to view.
The twilight survey
Astronomers jumped at the chance to carry out their observations during the brief window of twilight. It is to avoid the sun’s glare. A global team discovered the space rocks. This is due to the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. On Monday, The Astronomical Journal published their findings. 2022 AP7, one of the asteroids, has a width of 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles). There is a chance that it will eventually pass close to Earth due to its orbit. However, it is unclear when it is possible.
According to Scott S. Sheppard, their twilight survey is looking for asteroids in the region between the orbits. These orbits involve Venus and Earth. He works as an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Earth and Planets Laboratory in Washington. He added that they have discovered two sizable asteroids that are close to Earth and are around one kilometer across. We refer to objects of this size as “planet killer.”
The terrible effects of planet killer on life
The asteroid’s orbit intersects that of Earth, according to scientists. It happens when Earth is facing the opposite direction from the sun. Due to the asteroid’s five-year orbital period around the sun, this pattern will persist for centuries. But as time goes on, the asteroid’s orbit will get closer to Earth’s. As of right now, the asteroid “will stay well away from Earth,” according to Sheppard. However, scientists do not currently have a sufficient understanding of its orbit. They currently do not predict how harmful it may become for life in the future. He stated that a near-Earth planet killer “would have a disastrous impact on life as we know it.” Years of air pollution and dust buildup would chill the planet and block sunlight from reaching its surface.
It would cause a global extinction beyond anything the planet has experienced in millions of years, according to Sheppard. Over the following few years, the team tried to discover more planet killer asteroids in their survey. Surveys over the past ten years have found almost 95% of the estimated 1,000 larger-than-1-kilometer near-Earth objects that exist. The other two asteroids, 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, are on significantly less dangerous orbits. These two orbits do not present a threat to Earth.
Twilight poses difficulties for astronomers
Scientists are fascinated by PH27 2021. It is the sun’s nearest known asteroid. The space rock’s surface gets hot enough to melt lead as it gets nearer to our star. Astronomers who search for asteroids in the inner solar system have a difficult task at hand. Along with the main asteroid belt, it also contains Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the planet Mars. They only have two 10-minute windows each night to scan the region. In order to avoid the sun’s harsh light, astronomers are adopting ground-based telescopes for this.
Astronomers still encounter challenges during twilight because of the sun’s bright sky in the background. They have their telescopes focused close to the horizon in order to look for objects in the inner solar system. They must therefore look through Earth’s dense atmosphere and its hazy effects. If conditions are difficult for ground-based telescopes, then space-based telescopes cannot observe the inner solar system. This is similar to Hubble and James Webb in that the sun’s heat and strong light could destroy their equipment. Because of this, both space observatories are pointing away from the star.
DECam overcomes observational challenges
The wide-field capability of the Dark Energy Camera assisted astronomers in overcoming their observational difficulties. They were able to thoroughly scan large areas of the night sky.
Sheppard claims that due to the rarity of the inner asteroids, enormous expanses of sky are necessary. The requirement for deep photos arises from the fact that asteroids are faint. Unlike smaller telescopes, DECam can cover a substantial portion of the sky at great depths. DECam enables us to travel farther and helps us observe more of the sky. It also helps to explore the inner solar system in previously unimaginable ways.
Final Thoughts
One of the main objectives of NASA is to find threats from near-Earth objects that could cause significant harm. There are currently no asteroids directly headed towards Earth. However, there are more than 27,000 near-Earth asteroids of diverse sizes and shapes.
NASA recently demonstrated that it is possible to safely change an asteroid’s course in orbit. However, researchers must first find any space pebbles that could endanger Earth. It is possible with the Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART mission. Using devices like the Dark Energy Camera, it is now possible to find asteroids that were previously undetected. Scientists will be able to better grasp the distribution and dynamics of space rocks. The scientists’ research and understanding of the populations of planet killers will help them understand this. It is similar to how the sun’s heat over time might cause them to break apart and fragment. Sheppard went on to say that our DECam survey is one of the biggest and most accurate searches. This survey is yet only for objects close to and within the orbits of Venus and the Earth. This is a rare opportunity to learn more about the kinds of objects that the inner solar system may include.