Did you see what the article said? "However, astronomers around the world didn't detect the asteroid in telescope data at any point before, during or after the approach because 2022 SF289 was hidden by Milky Way starlight."
How many asteroids have come dangerously close to earth, and astronomers didn't see them? They tried something new and saw this one. How in the world do they think that they can even come close to determining the age of the universe. Their work might not be humorous. But some of their conclusions are.
Skyscraper-sized asteroid spotted near Earth deemed “potentially hazardous” by NASA
https://www.naturalnews.com/2023-08-08-asteroid-spotted-near-earth-deemed-potentially-hazardous.htmlA new algorithm has helped astronomers detect 2022 SF289, a skyscraper-sized asteroid hiding in plain view near Earth. The algorithm was designed to hunt the biggest and most dangerous space rocks.
Experts report that 2022 SF289 is 600-foot-wide (180 meters) and orbits close enough to Earth to be classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA). The asteroid 2022 SF289 is one of an estimated 2,300 similarly classed objects.
Potentially hazardous asteroids are near-Earth objects (NEOs) that are larger than 460 feet (140 meters) in diameter.
PHAs could come within 4.65 million miles (7.48 million km) of Earth, or roughly 20 times the average distance between Earth and the moon. If an asteroid of this size breaks through the planet's atmosphere without burning up, it could result in widespread damage and countless injuries, especially if it landed in a densely populated city.
Fortunately, experts say that there is no risk of collision with 2022 SF289, at least in the foreseeable future.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 2022 SF289 first made a close approach to Earth in September 2022, when it flew within about 4.5 million miles (7.2 million kilometers) of the planet.
However, astronomers around the world didn't detect the asteroid in telescope data at any point before, during or after the approach because 2022 SF289 was hidden by Milky Way starlight.
But experts have finally discovered the asteroid's existence while testing out a new algorithm that was designed to specifically detect large asteroids from small fragments of data.
The detection of a PHA that is hard to spot using traditional methods proves the usefulness of the algorithm, which will soon be used to analyze data gathered by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
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