Editing Atira asteroid (section)

===Discovery and observation===
Their location inside the Earth's orbit makes Atiras very difficult to observe, as from Earth's perspective they are close to the [[Sun]] and therefore 'drowned out' by the Sun's overpowering light.<ref name=Sparkle/> This means that Atiras can usually only be seen during [[twilight]].<ref name=Sparkle/> The first documented twilight searches for asteroids inside Earth's orbit were performed by astronomer [[Robert Trumpler]] over the early 20th century, but he failed to find any.<ref name=Sparkle/>

The first confirmed Atira asteroid was 163693 Atira in 2003, discovered by the Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research Team.<ref>{{cite web |title=Minor Planet Circular 61768|url=https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/2008/MPC_20080122.pdf|publisher=Minor Planet Center|access-date=2024-08-22}}</ref> {{As of|January 2025}}, there are 34 known Atiras, two of which are named, nine of which have received a [[minor planet designation|numbered designation]], and seven of which are [[potentially hazardous object]]s.<ref name="neo-jpl-stats" /><ref name="jpl-search-by-smallest-aphelion"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Small-Body Database Query |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_query.html#!#results |website=Solar System Dynamics – Jet Propulsion Laboratory |publisher=NASA – California Institute of Technology |access-date=2025-01-17}}</ref>