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Astronomers at NASA has found three enormous near-Earth asteroids that were hiding from the Sun’s light. These three asteroids are part of a group that is located within the orbits of Earth and Venus. They are very difficult to see, because the Sun’s brightness prevents telescopic views of them. One of them, 2022 AP7, is possibly potential threat to Earth and is thought to be the greatest planet-killer-sized asteroid to have been discovered in a decade.

This potentially hazardous asteroid has a diameter of about 1.1 km to 2.3 km and is allegedly in the top 5 percent of the largest space rocks ever found. . For context, an asteroid with a diameter more than 1km is enough to trigger a mass extinction event on Earth. As well as having a diameter more than 1km, an asteroid also needs to have an orbit that crosses Earth’s to be considered potentially dangerous. In the case of Asteroid 2022 AP7, any threat is centuries down the track.The most important point is it has been detected and can now be tracked.

The asteroid has been reported in the Astronomical Journal by the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington. The lead author of the study Scott Sheppard and his associates found three significantly large asteroids, one of which is 2022 AP7.  He added that in the case of 2022 AP7's collision with Earth, the effects would be devastating. It would cause large amounts of dust and pollutants to rise to the atmosphere which would take years to settle. Such large asteroids are called planet-killers due to the potential threat they pose which might trigger a mass-extinction event upon collision with Earth. However, according to Shepard, the asteroid has absolutely no chance of colliding with the Earth and will merely pass through the Earth's orbit at a distance of millions of kilometers

We simply don’t know enough about 2022 AP7 to precisely predict the danger it may pose centuries from now. At the same time, we can say that there could be other “planet killers” out there yet to be discovered. While the asteroid 2022 AP7 has no chance of actually coming close to Earth, it could pose a threat to our planet centuries in the future as it swings back in its orbit. It is estimated that we’ve already discovered around 95% of potentially hazardous asteroids (PHA). The work of Sheppard and colleagues highlights that hunting down the remaining 5%  some 50 asteroids  will be a massive effort.

The other two asteroids discovered by the team do not pose any risk to our planet Earth. This is not the first time that this planet killer is crossing our path. 2022 AP7 orbits the Sun once every five years. This year, even though it will enter Earth’s orbit when the Earth is on the opposite side, it may eventually catch up and sync its movement with that of our planet. But this is expected to happen centuries into the future.

It’s very likely the NEO Surveyor by NASA will reveal new objects, and help us categorise a large number of space rocks to greatly improve our understanding of threats. The key is to find as many objects as possible, categorise them, calculate the risks, and plan a redirection mission as much in advance as possible. The fact that all of these elements of planetary defence are now a reality is an amazing feat of science and engineering.

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CREDIT : NASA/JPL-TECH/ESA/APL/ESO

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