3 'City-Killer' Asteroids Could Strike Earth In Weeks, Say Scientists

At least three large asteroids, powerful enough to destroy an entire city, could be on a collision course with Earth in the coming weeks, a new study has warned.

Published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, the study highlights the threat posed by three space rocks-named 2020 SB, 524522, and 2002 CL1-which currently share an orbit with Venus. According to the international research team led by Valerio Carruba from Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, these asteroids are hidden in the Sun's glare, making them nearly impossible to detect with telescopes on Earth.

While their current paths don't bring them close to Venus, researchers caution that even a minor gravitational disturbance could shift their orbits toward Earth, with potentially catastrophic consequences. If one were to strike, the impact could create a crater more than 3 kilometres wide and release energy up to a million times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Fox News reported. 

"These co-orbital asteroids are protected from close encounters with Venus, but not with Earth," the researchers said, as quoted by The Daily Galaxy. The objects are especially dangerous because their position relative to the Sun acts like a cosmic blind spot, making last-minute detection extremely difficult.

The Rubin Observatory in Chile, which monitors such threats, would have just two to four weeks' notice before any potential impact. The study suggests that only a dedicated space-based mission near Venus could effectively detect these hidden, potentially hazardous asteroids.