Astronomers say plenty of asteroids could be hiding in the Sun’s glare. These near-Earth asteroids would likely be objects we’ve never detected, since most telescope systems look outward from our Solar System. Recent surveys have revealed never-before-seen asteroids hiding near Venus and other planets in our Solar System.
Astronomers found never-before-seen asteroids hiding in the Sun’s glow
Image source: lukszczepanski/Adobe
Finding never-before-seen asteroids hiding near Earth is not surprising. After all, most of our space telescopes, including the recently activated James Webb, are looking outward, away from the Sun. This is because the Sun’s glow is often too bright for these telescopes to see anything beyond.
But that same bright glow could be hiding tons of near-Earth asteroids. These same types of asteroids are often potentially dangerous due to their size. “Asteroid surveys generally operate at night, primarily finding objects beyond Earth’s orbit,” writes Scott S. Sheppard in an article published in the journal Science.
“This creates a blind spot because many near-Earth objects (NEOs) could be lurking within the sunlight in Earth’s orbit,” Sheppard continues.
But we’re out of luck, thankfully. As Sheppard points out in the paper, recent surveys have been battling against sunlight to try to find never-before-seen asteroids hidden deep within the Solar System. And these polls have had some success.
The dangers of undiscovered NEOs
An asteroid crashes into Earth in an illustration. Image source: Andrea Danti/Adobe
Never-before-seen asteroids could pose a major threat to Earth and everyone who calls it home. Asteroids, if large enough, can cause significant damage to our planet. This could include wiping out massive cities or even causing extinction level events like we saw with the dinosaurs.
Of course, the chances of it happening from an asteroid strike are slim. But it is not impossible. And that’s why these recent polls are proving so important. The glow of the Sun is easy to hide behind. It leaves room for asteroids and other never-before-seen NEOs to go unnoticed.
And we’ve had several asteroids impact the Earth within hours of their discovery. Fortunately, none of them have had much of an impact. But, if a large enough asteroid hit the planet, it could have lasting effects.
Watching astronomers delve into the search for never-before-seen near-Earth asteroids is encouraging. With China and other space agencies working to create asteroid detection systems, we are increasing our chances of survival.