‘Planet Killer’ asteroid spotted lurking in the sun’s glare – and it’s heading to Earth

An enormous asteroid going direction from the earth orbit – but astronomers aren’t worried.

The rock is 1.1 to 2.3 km in diameter and has been named 2022 AP7, discovered between the orbits of Earth and Venus.

The study, written in the Astronomical magazine and conducted by the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, said it was the largest planet-killer-sized asteroid seen in eight years.

It was found by the Blanco 4 meter telescope in Chile.

2022 AP7 is one of three “fairly large” space rocks that could be dangerous, and even in the top 5% of the largest ever found, according to the astronomers.

Lead study author Scott Sheppard explained that “any asteroid over 1 km in size is considered a planet killer” because it would push dust and pollutants into the atmosphere.

And they could potentially stay there for a long time, blocking sunlight and potentially triggering a “mass extinction event” that Sheppard says hasn’t been seen on Earth for millions of years.

But while the thought of an asteroid zooming toward Earth might make people think of: Adam McKay’s dystopian movie “Don’t Look Up”, there’s a reason astronomers don’t sound the alarm.

It’s not likely to hit Earth – just Earth’s orbit. Our planet will be on the far side of the sun during its annual rotation when 2022 AP7 gets close, meaning there’s no chance of a collision any time soon.

Sheppard did warn that over time it will get closer to Earth during its orbit, but this will be in eons.

He added: “We don’t know the orbit of 2022 AP7 precisely enough to say much about its dangers over centuries.”

in Sept, NASA’s Dart Mission to deter an asteroid was successful.

This could become a blueprint for avoiding a collision with Earth, suggesting that we will be better protected against such hazards in the future – although 2022 AP7 is probably too big to be stopped in this way now with just one dart.

The director of the National Near Earth Objects Information Center, Jay Tate, said: the guard that Earth was a very small target.

“At the moment, the chance of impact is in any case quite low. I wouldn’t say negligible, but pretty low,” he said.