New Planet Killer Asteroid Discovered

The Newly launched L5 asteroid spotter just discovered a  10 mile wide Near Earth asteroid.

The newly identified asteroid has an orbital period of exactly half a year and is caught in 1:2 Earth’s orbital resonance. It was  hidden  by the Sun’s glare all these years, undetected by optical and radio astronomy. 

 It was only thanks to a recently launched  asteroid spotter satellite  hanging in a halo orbit around Earth-Sun Lagrange 5 point, that the asteroid managed to be spotted . Perched at an angle of 60 degrees in front of the Earth, the observatory  was studying a side view of  Earth’s neighborhood and spotted the asteroid  shortly after the observations had begun. 

Due to the asteroid’s size and proximity to the Earth, it immediately  earned  the highest mark on the Torino Impact hazard scale. The biggest danger   is that close encounters with Earth happen every year due to the resonant nature of the orbit. The orbit’s high inclination means that the rock was probably captured by Earth’s gravity. There is a good chance that it has come from an Oort cloud or has an interstellar origin. 

It is not yet clear how long the asteroid has been around for and whether its orbit is stable. The orbit is hard to predict since it is being perturbed by Venus and Mercury. Solar winds are also a significant factor due to the proximity of the rock perihelium to the Sun, which makes orbit even harder to predict. 

Scientists warn that  there is a non-negligible probability of Earth collision in 7 years, 25 years and 43 years. They have suggested using the Fast Deployment Observatory parked in Earth-Moon Lagrange 2 point, to run a reconnaissance mission to understand the asteroid's origin. This would provide valuable data on how long the rock was around. A longer history would mean the orbit is stable and the risk of a collision with Earth is lower.

Meanwhile,  theories for an  interstellar origin of the rock are flooding the internet, as the asteroid would be a perfect spot for extra terrestrials to observe the Earth without being spotted themselves. “We should pretend to be oblivious of it for as long as possible...” suggests Avi Loeb of Harward, “It might be waiting for us to discover it.”