'Planet killer' asteroid found hiding in sun's glare

Politics 1 year ago 335

The biggest Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) in eight years has been discovered hiding in the sun's glare.

It's estimated at 1.5km wide - nearly a mile - a size that astronomers class as "planet killers" due to the damage they can cause.

The rock is believed to be in the top 5% of largest-known PHAs.

Called 2022 AP7, it's one of several newly discovered asteroids found orbiting near Earth and Venus.

The asteroid crosses the Earth's own orbit, but there's no need to panic for now: experts say any possible collision probably wouldn't happen for a few thousand years.

The asteroids were detected using the Cerro Tololo observatory in Chile and detailed in a study in the Astronomical Journal....

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