Asteroid-hunting algorithm detects its first ‘potentially dangerous’ space rock twice the size of the Statue of Liberty
A new algorithm has detected a ‘potentially dangerous’ asteroid in a groundbreaking study that could protect Earth from a world-destroying space rock.
Astronomers led by the University of Washington announced that their system has spotted a 600-meter-long asteroid, twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, using fewer and more scattered observations than current methods.
The algorithm, HelioLinc3D, scoured space observations and identified 2022 SF289 on July 18, 2023 β the first images of the asteroid were captured on September 19, 2022, but it was too faint for current technology to capture.
2022 SF289 isn’t a near-future risk, but closest approach will put it 240,000 miles inside Earth’s orbit β closer than the moon.
The algorithm, HelioLinc3D, scoured space observations and identified 2022 SF289 on July 18, 2023 β the first images of the asteroid were captured on September 19, 2022, but it was too faint for current technology to capture
The algorithm was designed to discover near-Earth asteroids for the upcoming 10-year survey of the night sky by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
The Chile-based observatory is not yet operational, so astronomers used observations from the University of Hawaii’s ATLAS survey.
Rubin scientist Ari Heinze, the lead developer of HelioLinc3D and a researcher at the University of Washington, said in a rack“By demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the software Rubin will use to search for thousands of yet unknown potentially dangerous asteroids, the discovery of 2022 SF289 makes us all safer.”
ATLAS observed 2022 SF289 for four nights, but the asteroid was too faint to capture.
However, HelioLinc3D combined snippets of data from all four nights and made the discovery.
2022 SF289 (green orbit) isn’t a near-future risk, but closest approach will put it 220,000 miles inside Earth’s orbit β closer than the moon
Currently, scientists know of 2,350 potentially hazardous asteroids, but expect more than 3,000 more to be found
Larry Denneau, leading ATLAS astronomers, said: “Any survey will struggle to discover objects like 2022 SF289 that are near the sensitivity limit, but HelioLinc3D shows that it is possible to recover these faint objects as long as they remain for be visible for several nights.
“It basically gives us a ‘bigger, better’ telescope.”
Other surveys also missed 2022 SF289 as it passed in front of the Milky Way’s rich starfields.
Currently, scientists know of 2,350 potentially dangerous asteroids, but they expect more than 3,000 more to be found.
Rubin scientist Mario JuriΔ, leader of the team behind HelioLinc3D, said: βThis is just a preview of what to expect with the Rubin Observatory in less than two years, when HelioLinc3D will discover an object like this every night.
‘But more broadly, it is a preview of the coming era of data-intensive astronomy. From HelioLinc3D to AI-assisted codes, the next decade of discovery will be a story of advances in algorithms as well as new, large telescopes.β
NASA previously completed the first planetary defense test in September 2022, when it sent a spacecraft on a mission to knock an asteroid out of orbit.
Before impact, Dimorphos took 11 hours and 55 minutes to circle its parent asteroid Didymos, and now its orbit has been shortened by 32 minutes β the original goal was to shave off at least 10 minutes.