Overview

• At least 20 Venus co-orbital asteroids are confirmed and orbital simulations suggest a much larger hidden population may exist.
• Objects larger than 140 meters that cross within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth’s path qualify as potentially hazardous asteroids.
• Solar elongation constraints and the Sun’s glare limit Earth-based detection to brief observation windows each year.
• Chaotic dynamics give these asteroids Lyapunov times near 150 years, making long-term prediction of their paths unreliable.
• The Vera Rubin Observatory may detect some when it begins full operations in July 2025, but only a space mission near Venus can comprehensively map the invisible threats.