Scientists have discovered a new dangerous object for the Earth: what threat does it pose to humanity

The formation of the solar system in its early stages was accompanied by numerous collisions that gradually led to the formation of the planets. Currently, most of the debris from these events is concentrated in the asteroid belt.

Recently, scientists have discovered that the most threatening space objects are often hidden in sunlight, which makes them difficult to detect. Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science discovered asteroid 2025 SC79, which is completely hidden from observation by bright sunlight.

This asteroid belongs to a rare group known as Atyrau-type asteroids. These are near-Earth objects whose orbits lie inside Earth’s orbit, making them difficult to detect. In 2025, SC79 became the 39th registered representative in this category. In addition, it is only the second, whose orbit lies inside Venus’s orbit and, at the same time, crosses Mercury’s path.

“The asteroid’s orbital period around the Sun is only 128 days, the third shortest of any known object of its type. The diameter of this cosmic body is approximately 700 meters. Although it is smaller than the Chicxulub asteroid that caused the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, a collision with an object of this size could have catastrophic consequences for continents and threaten millions of lives,” the scientists note.

Confirmation of the discovery using the Gemini and Magellan telescopes once again underscores that the most dangerous asteroids are often the most difficult to identify. At the moment, asteroid 2025 SC79 is again hiding in sunlight and will not be available for observations for several months.

Further observations of this object will allow astronomers to examine its composition and study how it withstands the effects of solar radiation. This study will also shed light on the possible origin of the asteroid – perhaps it was ejected from the central asteroid belt and entered the Sun’s gravitational field.