Scientists have come up with a way to save the Earth from a catastrophic collision with a killer asteroid

According to NASA forecasts, the probability of a deadly asteroid hitting the Earth in any given year is small, but it exists. However, a scientist from the University of Murcia (Spain), Oscar del Barco Novillo, has come up with an equation to detect killer asteroids heading for our planet.

The professor's equation is based on the gravitational curvature of light and will allow scientists to accurately determine the position of small objects in the solar system. This, in turn, could allow planetary defense networks to detect and prepare for any asteroids that may collide with the Earth, MailOnline writes.

Using this equation, scientists will be able to get an early warning about the asteroid and have time to deflect it to a safer path.

Normally, light travels in a direct path from an object to our eyes, meaning that where we see the image is where the object itself is. However, this is not the case for distant objects such as asteroids because of a phenomenon called gravitational deflection. When a ray of light passes through a strong gravitational field, like the one around our Sun, it leaves its straight path and follows a curved trajectory. To make it easier to understand, you can compare it to a ball rolling on an uneven surface along a curved path.

The idea that gravity can bend intermediate rays of light was first proposed by Isaac Newton in 1730. However, it wasn't until Albert Einstein proposed his theory of general relativity in 1916 that scientists were able to confirm that this was indeed the case.

The problem for astronomers is that gravitational deflection means that the image we see of a distant object does not match where that object actually is.

"When sunlight is reflected from minor objects in the solar system, such as asteroids, the light rays we receive on Earth are deflected because of the Sun and large planets like Jupiter. In this sense, the actual position of these minor bodies is shifted, so this effect must be taken into account in the equations of motion of these minor bodies," explains Prof. Novillo.

For most applications, this is not a problem, but when it comes to calculating the orbit of a potentially dangerous asteroid, even a small miscalculation can be fatal.

Prof. Novillo's solution is to treat gravity as a physical medium to determine how much light bends as it travels.

Using this formula, Professor Novillo calculated the angle of deflection of light rays coming from Mercury at different points in its orbit. Comparing the results with those based on Newton's and Einstein's equations, he found that the difference is up to 15.8 percent when Mercury is at the greatest distance from the Sun.

According to the professor, the most important consequence of this discovery is the ability to better calculate the orbits of minor objects in the solar system that could be potentially dangerous to the Earth.

That is, it will not help to detect asteroids in the first place, but it will help to determine the exact location of these objects and, as a result, better estimate their orbits.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA reported that scientists have assessed all the risks when a giant asteroid may approach the Earth.

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