Venus may be hiding several asteroids that could one day cross Earth's path

In a nutshell: A recent study has revealed that Venus, Earth's closest planetary neighbor, may harbor a largely undetected population of asteroids capable of crossing Earth's path over thousands of years. While these space rocks pose no immediate danger, their elusive orbits and proximity to our planet have prompted astronomers to reconsider how we monitor near-Earth objects. Co-orbital asteroids – space rocks that travel alongside planets without fully orbiting them – are notoriously difficult to track. Venus currently hosts 20 known co-orbitals, including "Trojan" asteroids and the peculiar quasi-moon Zoozve. These objects, each exceeding 460 feet in diameter, could devastate urban areas if they collided with Earth. Simulations suggest their orbits, which are shaped by gravitational interactions with Venus and other planets, might eventually redirect them toward our planet. "None of the current co-orbital objects will impact Earth soon," Valerio Carruba, an astronomer at São Paulo ... Read full article.