The Earth has always had a silent companion in the vastness of space: Luna. But what if she's not the only one? A recent study published in the journal Nature Astronomy revealed that there is another celestial body that has captured the attention of scientists: an asteroid. 469219 Kamolawewa. This small asteroid, which orbits in conjunction with Earth, may have a history surprisingly linked to our beloved moon.
What is 469219 Kamoalewa, Earth's “second moon”.
469219 Kamolawewa It is an asteroid that has attracted the attention of scientists because of its strange relationship with Earth. Discovered in 2016 by the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii, it is a small celestial body about 30-60 meters in diameter.
It makes a full rotation every 28 minutes, and sometimes comes as close as 16 million kilometers to Earth due to its orbital path. Scientists call it “Quasi-satellite“Earth, an object that follows an orbit similar to that of a planet but is not a real moon.
Revealing the origin of the quasi-lunar: what he discovered
According to the study, Kamo'oalewa may come from an influence on Luna That created the Giordano Bruno hole. This crater, 22 kilometers wide and located on the far side of the Moon, has characteristics similar to those of an asteroid: the reflected light, size, age, and rotation speed coincide with those of the lunar crater.
Scientists carefully analyzed the light reflected by Kamwala and compared it with moon samples brought back to Earth by space missions. The similarities were striking, suggesting that may be the asteroid Comes straight from the moon.
The researchers calculated that the asteroid might have been like that Expelled from the moon After colliding with a space rock about 1.6 kilometers in diameter. It then traveled through space before settling in a near-Earth synchronous orbit. This scenario provides a plausible explanation for the existence of Kamo'oalewa and its close orbit around our planet.
What is semi-satellite and what is terrestrial
And Quasi-satellite It is a celestial body that resembles a planet or a satellite, revolving around the planet itself and its star.
These bodies are in Orbital resonance 1:1 with the planet remaining close for long but varying periods. Their orbits, outside the Hill band, are unstable and tend to evolve into other forms of resonance over time.
Orbit The orbit of a quasi-satellite around the Sun takes the same time as the orbit of a planet but usually has a greater eccentricity. From the planet's perspective, it appears to revolve around it, even though it technically does not revolve around it.
Other types of orbits At 1:1 the echoes include horseshoe-shaped objects around Lagrange points, but these objects do not stay near the planet for long. They can periodically cross quasi-satellite orbits for short periods and merge with them. An example of this is the 2002 AA29.
between Known satellites of Earth Ci sono: 3753 Cruithne, 2002 AA29, 2003 YN107, 2004 GU9, (419624) 2010 SO16, 2014 OL339, 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, 2022 YG e 2023 FW13.
“Internet trailblazer. Travelaholic. Passionate social media evangelist. Tv advocate.”
More Stories
James Webb mapped the weather of an exoplanet
“Earth will be unrecognizable”, watch the video of what our planet will look like in 250 million years
“The illness has changed my discipline. I have always been physically strong.”