Unsecured and dangerous asteroids could hide on the orbit of Venus

Space can be a dangerous place, with massive rocks that launching in the solar system at fast speeds, some of which can be directed in our direction. NASA and other agencies retain close surveillance on the sky, looking for potentially dangerous asteroids that threaten the earth. However, it turns out that a single group of potentially problematic asteroids can hide at sight.

A group of researchers warns against the potential threat of asteroids who share the orbit of Venus, surrounding the sun at a distance close to the earth, but they are practically invisible for our current observation tactics. In a recent study published in the Astronomy and astrophysics Journal, scientists reveal a potentially dangerous asteroid population, which would appear in telescopic observations around two weeks before a potential impact on earth.

Rocky companions

There are currently 20 known asteroids that co-orbit with Venus, although astronomers suspect that there are many more space rocks in similar orbits, but they are difficult to detect due to the glare of the sun. These asteroids can come from the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and were then dispersed towards the inner solar system while colliding with the planets.

Venus’ coorbital asteroids do not organize the planet itself but rather follow a similar orbital path around the sun. Although their proximity to Venus prevents them from colliding with our neighboring planet, the earth is not immune to their potential threat.

The team of researchers behind the new study aimed to assess the possible threat posed by the unteashed population of co-orbital asteroids of Venus. They combined analytical models of the asteroid movement with digital simulations to monitor potential narrow meetings with the earth. The results revealed risky regions where the asteroid population is at a strangely narrow distance from the earth, in less than 0.0005 astronomical units (75,000 km, 46,000 miles) of the orbit of our planet. This close distance allows a potential collision with the earth, which would lead to a large -scale devastation on our planet.

“Our study shows that there is a potentially dangerous asteroid population that we cannot detect with current telescopes,” Guaratinguetá Campus (FEG-USEP), professor at the Guaratinguetá (FEG-UNESP) and principal study of the study. “Assroids of about 300 meters (984 feet) in diameter, which could form craters of 3 to 4.5 kilometers (1.9 to 2.8 miles) wide and release an energy equivalent to hundreds of megatons, can be hidden in this population.”

The study also analyzed the detection potential of the asteroid group using recently inaugurated observatories such as the VERA C. Rubin observatory. “Such asteroids can remain invisible for months or years and appear only a few days in very specific conditions. This makes them effectively undetectable with regular Vera Rubin programs,” added Carruba. “Planetary defense must consider not only what we can see, but also what we cannot yet see.”