(ORDO NEWS) — Astronomers have made a revolutionary discovery by discovering a massive asteroid the size of a skyscraper near Earth. This discovery was made possible thanks to a new algorithm specifically designed to detect the largest and most dangerous space rocks.
The asteroid, officially named 2022 SF289, is about 600 feet (180 m) wide and is classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). This means that in the event of a direct collision, it can cause widespread destruction on Earth. However, there is no immediate danger of a collision with this asteroid.
The discovery of asteroid 2022 SF289 came after it made its closest approach to Earth in September 2022, passing within 4.5 million miles (7.2 million km) of our planet. Surprisingly, astronomers around the world have been unable to detect the asteroid in these telescopes due to its camouflage under the light of the stars of the Milky Way.
It was only recently, while testing a new algorithm designed to identify large asteroids from limited data, that researchers finally discovered the existence of this elusive space rock.
The algorithm, dubbed HelioLinc3D, successfully detected PHA that had gone undetected using traditional detection methods. This breakthrough confirms the capabilities of the algorithm and paves the way for its implementation at the Vera K. Rubin Observatory. The observatory, located in the mountains of Chile, is due to begin its asteroid search in early 2025.
Mario Jurich, director of the Institute for Data Intensive Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Washington and leader of the algorithm design team, expressed his excitement about the Rubin observatory’s prospects.
He said: “This is just a glimpse of what we can expect from the Rubin observatory in less than two years, when [the] HelioLinc3D [algorithm] will detect such objects every night.”
To test the algorithm, the scientists used archived data from the Last Alert System (ATLAS) survey of Earth-impacted asteroids in Hawaii. ATLAS takes several pictures of the same area of the sky every night. While analyzing the data, the algorithm found a large asteroid that was not seen by ATLAS.
The asteroid was visible in three separate sky shots taken on September 19, 2022 and the following three nights. However, because it did not meet the ATLAS requirement of appearing in four separate images on the same night, its existence remained unknown.
Unlike ATLAS, which relies on extensive data, the HelioLinc3D algorithm allows you to identify asteroids with less information. The Rubin observatory, for which the algorithm was specially developed, will scan the sky twice a night, but with higher accuracy than other observatories.
The team that created the algorithm believes that 2022 SF289 is just the beginning and that there are potentially thousands of hidden PHAs orbiting our planet waiting to be discovered.
The discovery of this skyscraper-sized asteroid serves as a reminder of the importance of advanced detection techniques and ongoing efforts to monitor near-Earth objects. Thanks to the new algorithm and the observatory being created, scientists will be able to better identify potential threats and deepen our understanding of these celestial bodies.
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