‘Doomsday Swarm’ hides 14 large asteroids that could one day hit Earth

As many as fourteen potentially “kilometer-class” space rocks could be lurking in a long-feared stream of space debris known to be floating near Earth. However, a recent hunt for large asteroids within the Taurid swarm, also known as the “Doomsday” asteroid swarm, revealed less than astronomers expected.

“Fortunately, we found that it is likely that there are only a handful of asteroids – perhaps only nine to 14 – that fit into this large class in the shower,” said Quanzhi Ye, assistant research scientist at the University of California’s Department of Astronomy . the University of Maryland, which oversaw the project.

While the relatively small number of dangerous asteroids close to Earth is reassuring in some ways, the researchers think their findings underscore the need for vigilance and better detection capabilities.

Rare opportunity

The scientists used the Zwicky Transient Facility telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California to examine the night sky for clues to massive space rocks in the Taurid swarm.

“We took advantage of a rare opportunity as this swarm of asteroids came closer to Earth, allowing us to more efficiently search for objects that could threaten our planet,” Ye said. “Our findings suggest that the risk of being hit by a large asteroid in the Taurid swarm is much lower than we thought, which is great news for planetary defense.”

The results were announced last week at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences.

Taurid swarm

What astronomers fear most when it comes to planetary defense is the Taurid swarm, a massive stream of material in the solar system that the Earth slowly moves through each year as it orbits the sun. It is suspected to contain the remains of a 100-kilometer-wide asteroid or comet called 2P/Encke, which broke up about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, with some of those remains possibly being “kilometer-class” space rocks.

“Based on our findings, the parent object that originally created the shower probably had a diameter of less than 10 kilometers instead of a huge object of 100 kilometers,” Ye said. “While we still need to be vigilant about asteroid impacts, we can probably sleep better knowing these results.”

‘Halloween Fireballs’

The Taurid Shower is best known for producing two annual meteor showers, which are completely safe. The Southern Taurids peak on November 5, while the Northern Taurids peak on November 12, with about five shooting stars per hour each around midnight.

Because both have fairly long peak frequencies, their shooting stars can often be seen in late October, earning them the nickname “Halloween fireballs.”

I wish you clear skies and big eyes.