New algorithm spots its first ‘potentially hazardous’ near-Earth asteroid and it's humongous

The University of Washington has released a statement after its asteroid discovery algorithm uncovered its first ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid.

The statement described the asteroid, which was named 2022 SF289, as roughly 600-foot-long, which is taller than the Washington Monument.

Predictions also suggest that the asteroid will get within 140,000 miles of Earth’s orbit, which is closer than the moon.

However, although it’s considered a near-Earth object and a ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid, it’s not in danger of actually colliding with Earth anytime soon.

Researchers from the University of Washington confirmed in their statement that the asteroid 'poses no risk to Earth for the foreseeable future'.

The asteroid was discovered during a test drive of the algorithm HelioLin3D in Hawaii, which detected the asteroids in fewer observations compared to currently available methods.

“By demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the software that Rubin Observatory will use to look for thousands of yet-unknown potentially hazardous asteroids, the discovery of 2022 SF89 makes us all safer,” said Ari Heinze, a scientist from Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

The Rubin Observatory is currently under construction in Chile and is expected to be completed sometime in 2024.

The main mission of the observatory is to survey the Southern Hemisphere sky over 10 years in order to map the Milky Way and create an inventory of our Solar System.

While there are around 2,350 potentially hazardous asteroids known to scientists, it's expected that there are at least another 3,000 potentially problematic ones out there, which hopefully the new algorithm and observatory can help find.

“Scientists will discover millions of new asteroids with Rubin’s data,” the observatory said in a statement about the asteroids discovery.

“The next-generation algorithm used to find this asteroid, called HelioLinc3D, boosts scientists' ability to identify new near-Earth asteroids using Rubin data, so scientists will be able to keep track of more nearby space rocks than ever before.

"It will advance many different areas of astronomical science."

Scientists are also hopeful that the data and algorithm may also help to answer the questions behind one of science’s greatest mysteries: dark matter.

“This is just a small taste of what to expect with the Rubin Observatory,” said Rubin scientist and leader of the new algorithm, Mario Juric.

“It’s a preview of the coming era of data-intensive astronomy.

"From HelioLinc3D to AI-assisted codes, the next decade of discovery will be a story of advancement in algorithms as much as in new, large, telescopes.”

Topics: News, Space, Technology

Velentina Boulter

Velentina is a freelance journalist for LADbible who is currently studying journalism at The University of Melbourne. When she's not typing away at her laptop, she can usually be found overanalysing movies or making terrible jokes.