Astronomers are shining a light on a mysterious group of asteroids that orbit the sun alongside Venus. Surprisingly, there might be many more of these asteroids than we previously thought.
Valerio Carruba from São Paulo State University has studied these asteroids and said, “It’s like finding a hidden continent.” He believes there are probably many undiscovered asteroids out there.
These asteroids, called “Venus co-orbital asteroids,” travel in sync with Venus around the sun. So far, only about 20 have been confirmed, but Carruba’s new study suggests that countless others could be hiding from our view.
One major challenge in spotting these asteroids is their position in the sky. They are close to the sun, making them tough to observe from Earth. Even when conditions are perfect, their speed complicates tracking them.
Out of the known asteroids, just one has a nearly circular orbit. The rest travel on stretched-out paths that sometimes bring them closer to Earth. This could be a quirk of how we’ve observed them, rather than an accurate representation of their total numbers. Carruba is optimistic, saying, “I suspect we will find hundreds of asteroids around Venus.”
To explore this, Carruba’s team ran simulations that looked ahead 36,000 years, modeling the orbits of hypothetical Venus co-orbital asteroids. They discovered that some can remain tied to Venus’ gravitational influence for about 12,000 years. The orbits appeared chaotic, meaning even slight changes over time could alter their paths, and some might drift closer to Earth.
However, there’s currently no need to worry. According to astronomer Scott Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science, “The likelihood of one colliding with Earth anytime soon is extremely low.” So, these asteroids don’t pose an immediate threat.
A recent study in the journal *Icarus* explored the orbital behavior of the known Venus co-orbital asteroids. It found three that could come within about 46,500 miles of Earth’s orbit over thousands of years. Tracking these movements helps scientists understand near-Earth space better.
Monitoring these asteroids is crucial. Carruba emphasized their importance, stating, “They are interesting dynamically — I think that would be a reason to continue studying them.”
Since Venus’ asteroids are hard to find from Earth, Carruba’s team looked at alternative observation methods. Their simulations suggest that a spacecraft closer to Venus could successfully detect these elusive asteroids.
The upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which recently released its first images, could make a difference as well. While not specifically designed for the inner solar system, its special twilight observations might help catch some hidden asteroids. So far, it has already identified over 2,100 new asteroids.
Looking ahead, a proposed mission called CROWN aims to deploy tiny spacecraft near Venus to actively search for these asteroids. Carruba believes this approach could lead to many discoveries, stating, “They may be able to discover a lot of these objects, if they exist.”
This research opens new doors in our understanding of the solar system. For now, the study is available on arXiv and will soon be published in the journal *Astronomy and Astrophysics*.