A hidden swarm of “city killer” space rocks, known as co-orbital asteroids, is likely hiding around Venus and could pose an “invisible threat” to Earth over the coming millennia if the asteroids are not found, new simulations suggest.
However, there is no immediate danger to our planet, researchers told Live Science.
Co-orbital asteroids are space rocks that orbit the sun alongside a planet or other large body without truly orbiting the larger object.
Researchers think there are more hidden space rocks lurking around Venus.
Previous research has shown that this likely happens to the space rocks once roughly every 12,000 years — known as a co-orbital cycle.
According to new simulations, a swarm of “city killer” space rocks called co-orbital asteroids is probably hiding around Venus and could present an “invisible threat” to Earth over the next millennium if they are not discovered. But according to researchers, our planet is not in immediate danger, Live Science reported.
Space rocks known as “co-orbital asteroids” orbit the sun in tandem with a planet or other large body, but they do not actually orbit the larger body. There are presently 20 known co-orbitals around Venus, which most likely came from the main asteroid belt in the solar system between Mars and Jupiter. These range from “Trojan asteroids,” which are fixed either in front of or behind a planet in its orbital plane, to a closely circling “quasimoon,” called Zoozve. Earth is accompanied by dozens of other co-orbitals that are similar, and new ones are constantly being found.
Every one of the space rocks from Venus is probably wider than 460 feet (140 meters), which makes them “city killers,” meaning that if they hit our planet, they might completely destroy a densely populated area.
From a distance, the co-orbitals are harmless to us, but if they get too close to Earth, they might be lured away from their gravitational anchor and end up on a collision course with our planet. Venus is one of our closest neighbors and is the planet that is closest to Earth, at a distance of about 25 million miles (40 million km). As a result, its trailing asteroids pose a real threat to Earth.
Related: Earth may have undiscovered extra moons orbiting it. Would they aid in our transition to an interplanetary species?
More hidden space rocks are thought to be hiding around Venus, according to researchers. With eccentricities greater than 0.38, all but one of the planet’s known co-orbitals have extremely long orbits around the planet. This implies that there is an observational bias, most likely as a result of the sun’s glare obscuring objects with lower eccentricities.
The ability of co-orbitals to shift in relation to Venus can also alter the likelihood of future collisions with Earth. According to prior studies, this probably occurs to the space rocks once approximately every 12,000 years; this is referred to as a co-orbital cycle.
Researchers conducted a series of computer simulations to determine whether hidden asteroids with lower eccentricities could pose a threat to Earth in a new study that was posted to the preprint server arXiv on May 21 and is presently undergoing peer review. In order to achieve this, the researchers “cloned” known co-orbitals with eccentricities lower than 0.38 and modelled their potential behavior over three co-orbital cycles, or 36,000 years.
According to the simulations, Earth may be in danger from a few of the recently added co-orbitals during this time. In an email to Live Science, study lead author Valerio Carruba, an astronomer at São Paulo State University in Brazil, stated that it is “hard to predict” how many co-orbitals there actually are, so the study does not provide any indication of how likely a future collision is. “The precise number is up in the air. “,”.
The “exciting” asteroids.
Many media outlets have exaggerated the likelihood of an impending collision since the new study was first posted; some tabloids have even suggested that Earth could be struck by Venusian asteroids “within weeks.”. However, the study contains no evidence to back up those assertions.
Carruba clarified, “None of the current co-orbital objects will impact Earth soon.”.
Carruba is happy that the topic is being discussed, but has been let down by some of the coverage of the recent study. He stated, “This research has been sensationalized, and our work has been cited with some liberties.”. It is our hope that this attention will increase awareness of a very interesting class of asteroids that need closer observation. “.”.
Similar to this: “Planet killer” asteroids are concealed by the glare of the sun. Can they be stopped in time?
The researchers also emphasized the recent discovery of the city killer asteroid 2024 YR4, which was first estimated to have a 2–3% chance of striking Earth in 2032 before the odds were reduced to zero. They wrote that this served as a crucial reminder of how crucial it is to identify and keep an eye on potentially dangerous asteroids.
SIMILAR STORIES.
—An asteroid strike in 2038 has not been forewarned by NASA. This is the actual event.
During a recent ultra-close flyby, a pyramid-sized asteroid was thrown off course by Earth’s gravity, according to NASA photos.
—Representatives in the US are concerned that tracking dangerous asteroids will become more difficult under Trump’s proposed budget for NASA.
Tools for new observations, like the Vera C. In the upcoming decades, the Chilean Rubin Observatory, which is scheduled to receive its first light later this year, will help scientists identify potentially hazardous space rocks, such as the co-orbitals of Venus. According to the researchers, it might also be wise to send a telescope into Venus’ orbit to look for these objects specifically.
Carruba remarked, “I would not lose sleep over this issue, but I believe that we should not underestimate their potential danger.”. “We will soon have a better understanding of this population. “.”.
