Space is still a great unknown, and there are many elements that pose a danger to our Earth in this great unknown. One of them is asteroids, which is perhaps the most memorable because of Hollywood productions. If a large enough asteroid hits the Earth, it would be a complete disaster. In such a case, we know what kind of scene will emerge from those Hollywood movies. With the discovery of the ‘Planet Killer’ by astronomers, these films were revived in memories. Especially the one called Don’t Look Up.
WHAT IS THIS PLANET KILLER?
According to the news of the Guardian, astronomers said that they discovered the largest-sized asteroid, called the planet killer, and that the huge asteroid could pass through Earth’s orbit.
The asteroid, designated 2022 AP7, was reported by researchers looking for space rocks in orbits of Earth and Venus. Writing in the Astronomical Journal, lead author of the study, Scott Sheppard, and colleagues at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington, announced that they have so far found three potentially dangerous “pretty large” asteroids that have crossed Earth’s orbit.
LARGEST POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS OBJECT DISCOVERED SINCE 2014
The team noted that 2022 AP7, with a diameter of about 1.1km to 2.3km, is the largest potentially dangerous object discovered since 2014, possibly in the 5% largest ever found.
“IN CASE IT HAS STRIKE TO THE WORLD…”
“Any asteroid larger than 1 km is considered a planet killer,” Sheppard said, adding that if such an object were to hit Earth, the impact would be devastating for life as we know it.
“Earth’s surface will likely cool significantly due to sunlight not reaching the planet. “In such a case, it would be a mass extinction event that has not been seen on Earth for millions of years,” he said.
REMEMBERED DON’T LOOK UP
2022 AP7 brought to mind Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill and the asteroid Armageddon in the movie. In the movie, two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humanity that a comet that will destroy the Earth is approaching, but no one cares about them. In the end, things were happening.
SPREADING WATER ON HEARTS DESCRIPTION
“There is no chance of hitting Earth right now,” Sheppard said of the worrying planet-killing asteroid. Sheppard noted that currently, 2022 AP7 passes Earth’s orbit when Earth is on the other side of the Sun.