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At least three city-killer asteroids could strike Earth within the coming weeks, according to a study published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics last week.
“Twenty co-orbital asteroids (space rocks in the orbit of two celestial bodies) of Venus are currently known,” the authors warned.
The study, which was conducted by an international research team led by Valerio Carruba of Sāo Paolo University in Brazil, reported that at least three asteroids -- 2020 SB, 524522 and 202 CL1 -- circle the Sun in an arrangement with Venus, which is concealing them, and its unstable orbits could lead them in a path dangerously close to Earth. A slight shift in the trajectory caused by a gravitational change or force could lead to a collision course with dire consequences.
“Co-orbital status protects these asteroids from close approaches to Venus, but it does not protect them from encountering Earth,” the researchers stated via the Daily Galaxy.
The researchers made their dire conclusion by using imitation space rocks to simulate the possible collision, which would come without warning as they are nearly invisible to detection devices on Earth. Telescopes are unable to spot rocks in a sub-orbital path with Venus as the view is blocked by the sun's glare, which acts as a cosmic cloaking device.
The Rubin Observatory in Chile would have only two to four weeks to spot the asteroids before they collide with earth due to the blindspot.
“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.
The projected impact would leave a crater more than two miles wide and is estimated to generate one million times more energy than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
“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.