A new study has revealed that 11 asteroids which were initially thought harmless may actually come very close to the earth. Interestingly, NASA had classified these space rocks measuring more than 100 meters in diameter as non-hazardous objects, but the new study conducted by experts using neural networks concluded that these asteroids could come within 4.7 million miles within the earth.
These asteroids are potentially hazardous
This mindblowing finding was made by researchers at Leiden University in the Netherlands using an AI software named the Hazardous Object Identifier. As these asteroids will skim past the earth within 4.7 million miles, scientists believe that these asteroids should be classified as potentially hazardous objects.
The software also revealed that these objects could make a close approach between 2131 and 2923. During this close approach, these asteroids will be at a distance less than the distance between the earth and the moon. If any of these asteroids collide with the earth, hundreds of thousands of people will die before they know what has actually happened.
"We generated a shortlist of the network identified potential impactors which NASA does not label as potentially hazardous objects, mainly because the observed orbital elements are so uncertain that NASA's Monte Carlo approach to determine their Earth-striking probability fails," wrote the researchers in the study report.
Outer space treaties and the probability of asteroid hit
A few weeks back, David Koplow, a professor of law at Georgetown University had warned that outer space treaties could elevate the chances of a potential asteroid hit in the future. The legal expert also cast doubt on NASA's planetary defence weapon which is aimed to deflect approaching asteroids from its original collision course trajectory.
As per Koplow, the planetary defence weapon developed by NASA is not tested properly, and it has no proven track record that substantiates its effectiveness.
