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Astronomers detect huge ‘planet killer’ asteroid that could one day threaten Earth.

Astronomers have detected a "planet killer" asteroid which crosses Earth’s orbit and could slowly move closer and closer to us centuries from now.

With a diameter of about 1.1 km to 2.3 km, the asteroid, named 2022 AP7, is the largest object potentially hazardous to Earth to have been discovered in the last eight years, said the team.

It is also likely to be in the top 5 per cent of the largest potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs) known.

The asteroid was detected by researchers using the Dark Energy Camera in Chile to look for objects within the orbits of Earth and Venus. They described their findings in an article in The Astronomical Journal published in September.

In addition to 2022 AP7, the team also detected two other near-Earth asteroids, called 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, which have orbits that safely remain completely interior to Earth’s orbit and shouldn’t ever come in its path.

Source: www.euronews.com

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