The large rock was hidden by the Milky Way starlight (Picture:Getty/ATLAS/University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy/Nasa)
There are clearly some jobs Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms can do better than humans, and one of them is spotting dangerous asteroids.
A previously undetected 600-foot asteroid was discovered using a new algorithm designed to detect large asteroids from small fragments of data.
The skyscraper-sized asteroid, named 2022 GN1, made a close approach to Earth in September 2022, flying within about 4.5 million miles (7.2 million kilometres) of our planet.
That’s close enough to Earth to be considered a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA).
However, the large rock was not detected by astronomers around the world at any point before, during or after the approach, as it was hidden by the Milky Way starlight.
The new algorithm, HelioLinc3D, was able to identify 2022 GN1 by analysing data from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a telescope designed to search for fast-moving objects in the night sky.
The asteroid’s presence was detected by the algorithm even though it was only visible for a brief period of time.
An Artificial Intelligence algorithm spotted a skyscraper-sized asteroid that came very close to the Earth but was missed by astronomers (Picture: ATLAS/University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy/NASA)
This discovery of an asteroid buried in year-old telescope data could change the way near-Earth objects are monitored.
The discovery of 2022 GN1 is a reminder that there are many ‘potentially hazardous asteroids’ that are still undetected by astronomers.
Currently, scientists know of 2,350 PHAs but expect there are more than 3,000 yet to be found.
Just last month, the Earth had a brush with another asteroid the size of a 20-storey building and astronomers didn’t notice until two days later.
This algorithm will soon be used to comb over data gathered by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a cutting-edge telescope in the Chilean mountains scheduled to begin asteroid-hunting operations in early 2025.
‘This is just a small taste of what to expect with the Rubin Observatory in less than two years, when [the algorithm] HelioLinc3D will be discovering an object like this every night,’ said Mario Jurić, the team leader behind the new algorithm, said in a statement.
‘By demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the software that Rubin will use to look for thousands of yet-unknown potentially hazardous asteroids, the discovery of 2022 SF289 makes us all safer,’ said Rubin scientist Ari Heinze, the principal developer of the algorithm.
It was hidden by Milky Way starlight.