If there are asteroids in the sky close to the sun, they will be missed in classic searches.
Bild: DOE/FNAL/DECAM/CTIO/NOIRLAB/NSF/
Today we know most of the asteroids that could be dangerous to Earth – but not all of them. This has now been proven once again by the discovery of a “planet killer”.
Wworries that the fate of the dinosaurs could one day befall us if the earth is hit by a large asteroid again are usually quickly reassured. According to NASA, for example, almost all of the large rocks that could pose a threat to the earth are known. It already has more than 90 percent of those objects that will come close to Earth in the future (“Near Earth Objects” – NEO) and have a size of more than one kilometer in view. She is still working on achieving this quota for the objects that are more than 140 meters in size.
30,445 asteroids whose orbits cross the earth’s orbit are currently listed in catalogues, 857 of them are larger than one kilometer. For comparison: the size of the asteroid that struck around 66 million years ago and caused a worldwide mass extinction is estimated at 10 to 15 kilometers. All over the world, many telescopes, operated by amateurs and professional astronomers alike, keep an eye out for other objects.