Scientists have spotted a potentially dangerous 183-metre asteroid that could destroy several cities

Scientists decided to use a new algorithm to search for potentially dangerous asteroids. It had immediate results.

Here's What We Know

Researchers believe that they managed to discover about half of the asteroids that could be potentially dangerous for our planet. They decided to test the HelioLinc3D algorithm, which is designed specifically to detect such objects.

HelioLinc3D is a development of American scientists for the Vera Rubin Observatory, which will start operating in 2025 in the Chilean Andes. It was previously known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope or LSST. The observatory has a 3200-MP camera and an 8.4-metre mirror.

The researchers used data from telescopes from Chile, South Africa and Hawaii to test the algorithm so they didn't have to wait until 2025. HelioLinc3D helped detect a potentially dangerous asteroid measuring almost 183 metres that is crossing Earth's orbit.

It is called 2022 SF289. The object was discovered in September 2022, when it was more than 20 million kilometres away from our planet. The asteroid does not pose a threat to all mankind. Its belonging to the category of potentially dangerous means that it can leave behind a crater the size of several cities or provoke a tsunami if it falls into the ocean.

Source: University of Washington