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23h ago

Twenty Asteroids Co-Orbit Venus and Could Threaten Earth

Chaotic trajectories combined with solar glare limit Earth-based searches, prompting calls for a dedicated space telescope to scan the Sun’s vicinity for hidden hazards.

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asteroid 2020 av2 first asteroid found entirely inside venus orbit
Image: NASA/APL/NRL

Overview

  • A study led by Valerio Carruba has catalogued 20 known asteroids sharing Venus’s orbit that may cross Earth’s path.
  • Bodies at least 140 meters in diameter entering within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth’s orbit are classified as potentially hazardous.
  • The co-orbitals exhibit highly chaotic behavior, with Lyapunov times around 150 years that undermine long-range trajectory forecasts.
  • Observation windows are restricted by the Sun’s glare and solar elongation constraints, hindering detection from ground-based observatories.
  • The Vera Rubin Observatory, set for first light in July 2025, could spot more co-orbitals, but researchers say a Venus-focused space mission is needed to reveal the full hidden population.