A series of asteroid flybys is expected near Earth in the coming month. According to current estimates, at least 20 cosmic objects will pass near our planet, but in reality, there could be many more – some asteroids are discovered just days before their close approach. This was reported by Mikhail Maslov, an engineer at the Vega Observatory of Novosibirsk State University.
From May 19 to 24 alone, 28 discovered asteroids flew past Earth. All of them were discovered shortly before their flyby, the astronomer said.
According to the specialist, many other objects likely passed near Earth that simply went unnoticed. Special telescope systems are engaged in detecting asteroids, constantly scanning the entire sky for potentially dangerous objects. Among such systems, the expert named Pan-STARRS and ATLAS.
They photograph different areas of the sky, then compare new images with old ones and databases of already known objects. If the system detects a moving object that was not previously in the catalogs, astronomers receive a signal about a new asteroid.
That is why the number of known asteroids flying near Earth is constantly changing. Some of them are discovered literally in the last days before their close approach to the planet.
