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Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Science
- Sky News AU
Three city-killing asteroids could strike Earth within weeks - generating a million times more energy than Hiroshima atomic bomb
Good things don't come in threes. Venus is concealing at least three city-killer asteroids that could strike Earth in weeks without warning, potentially wreaking havoc upon our planet before we can react. 'Twenty co-orbital asteroids [space rocks in the orbit of two celestial bodies] of Venus are currently known,' the authors warned in the arockcalyptic study, which was published in the journal 'Astronomy & Astrophysics.' The international research team, led by Valerio Carruba of São Paulo University in Brazil, wrote that at least three of the asteroids — 2020 SB, 524522 and 2020 CL1 — that circle the sun in tandem with our twin planet have unstable orbits that take them dangerously close to Earth, the Daily Mail reported. If this shaky trajectory is shifted only slightly by a small gravitational change or other force, the asteroids could be set on a collision course with our planet, per the study. 'Co-orbital status protects these asteroids from close approaches to Venus, but it does not protect them from encountering Earth,' the researchers warned, according to the Daily Galaxy. Carruba & Co. came to this conclusion by using imitation space rocks to simulate a range of possible outcomes over 36,000 years, finding that there is a sizable population of low-eccentricity asteroids — those previously thought to be harmless — that could be propelled toward Earth via gravitational shifts and other factors. To make matters worse, the aforementioned cosmic rocks' orbits make them almost invisible to Earthly detection devices. While scientists at NASA and other space agencies routinely track potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids, the telescopes can't spot rocks in a suborbital path with Venus due to the sun's glare, which shields them like a cosmic cloaking device, WION reported. Due to this interstellar blind spot, the Rubin Observatory in Chile would have only two to four weeks to spot deadly asteroids, leaving us little time if they were on a collision course. For reference, a mission to engineer something that could deflect a killer space rock generally takes years to formulate. 'Low-e [low eccentricity] Venus co-orbitals pose a unique challenge, because of the difficulties in detecting and following these objects from Earth,' the authors wrote in their conclusion. It would be bad news if one of these intergalactic gravelstones hit home. Asteroids 2020 SB, 524522 and 2020 CL1 measure between 330 and 1,300 feet in diameter, making each one capable of destroying entire cities and causing massive fires and tsunamis, the Daily Mail reported. An impact would leave a crater over two miles wide and generate 1 million times more energy than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Unfortunately, due to the constraints of terrestrial monitoring equipment, we may have to look to the stars for a solution. 'We believe that only a dedicated observational campaign from a space-based mission near Venus could potentially map and discover all the still 'invisible' PHA [potentially hazardous asteroids] among Venus' co-orbital asteroids,' the authors wrote. However, the powers that be better hurry, as researchers predict that co-orbital asteroids' orbits could become unpredictable in just more than 150 years — a blip in the interstellar timescale. Originally published as Three city-killing asteroids could strike Earth within weeks - generating a million times more energy than Hiroshima atomic bomb
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Scientists warn city-killing asteroids could be headed for Earth within weeks after revealing fatal detection flaw
At least three city-killing asteroids that could strike Earth are hiding behind our closest neighbor in the solar system. A new study warns that Venus is blocking out our view of many near-Earth asteroids - large space rocks that cross or come near Earth's orbit - setting up the potential for a devastating impact. Researchers from Brazil, France, and Italy found that several asteroids in sync with Venus's orbit are extremely hard to spot because they're often hidden by the Sun's glare. Three in particular, 2020 SB, 524522, and 2020 CL1, have orbits that take these asteroids dangerously close to Earth. Even worse, the asteroids don't follow perfectly stable paths, meaning any kind of gravitational change could shift their course and pull them towards Earth. The three asteroids flying along with Venus measure between 330 and 1,300 feet in diameter, making each one capable of leveling entire cities and setting off massive fires and tsunamis. The researchers noted that the Rubin Observatory in Chile might be able to spot deadly asteroids approaching from our blind spot near Venus, but the window to see them would be extremely short, possibly lasting only two to four weeks. If one of these asteroids were to hit a city, it would make a crater over two miles wide and release over one million times more energy than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan in 1945. The international team, led by Valerio Carruba of São Paolo University, focused on asteroids that share Venus's orbit around the Sun, called Venus co-orbital asteroids. 'Twenty co-orbital asteroids of Venus are currently known,' the authors wrote in their report to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics. 'Co-orbital status protects these asteroids from close approaches to Venus, but it does not protect them from encountering Earth,' they warned. Essentially, these asteroids are like dancers moving in step with Venus as they both move around the Sun; staying safely away from it due to their synchronized orbits. However, their wobbly and unpredictable paths can cross Earth's track, and if they reach that crossing point at the same time as Earth, they could crash into us. The near-Earth asteroids 2020 SB, 524522, and 2020 CL1 are the most concerning because each has a very small Minimum Orbital Intersection Distance (MOID) - the closest distance between their orbit and Earth's orbit around the Sun. A smaller MOID means an asteroid's chance of colliding with Earth increases dramatically. These three asteroids near Venus have MOIDs of less than 0.0005 astronomical units (AU), which is about 46,600 miles - closer than the Moon's average distance from Earth. In April, scientists at NASA increased the chance of an asteroid hitting the Moon to four percent. That prediction came after the probability of an impact on Earth rose to 3.1 percent - the highest odds ever recorded for a large asteroid. Researchers warned that they might be able to spot deadly asteroids approaching from our blind spot near Venus, but the window to see them would be extremely short, possibly lasting only 2 to 4 weeks Since telescopes here on Earth have a limited ability to see in all directions out in space, the researchers believe that a dedicated space probe needs to be launched towards Venus. According to their report, this is the only thing that can fully map the 'still invisible' hazardous asteroids hiding in Earth's blind spot. In February, NASA ruled out the possibility that another asteroid known as 2024 YR4 striking Earth in 2032. The threatening space rock is around 200 feet in diameter and still has a 1-in-25 chance of colliding with the Moon. Were it to hit the Earth, it would unleash a blast at least 500 times more powerful than that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Despite moving out of the danger zone, scientists are still tracking 2024 YR4 to learn its exact size of composition. If 2024 YR4 does hit the Moon in seven years, knowing these key facts could be a major boon for scientists around the world. The blast wouldn't affect Earth but it would be the first time scientists could watch a known asteroid create a lunar crater in real-time. The data gathered from this impact could help scientists understand more about other craters on the lunar surface.
