Did part of the moon break away from it and become an asteroid? The researchers found that analysis of the aligned satellite indicated that it may have originated on the moon.
Quasi-satellite Are small near-Earth solar system objects that orbit the sun but are still close to the earth. The new researchers Learn, Published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment, pointed out.
The earth has five quasi-satellites, one of which is Kamo’oalewa. It was discovered using the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii in 2016 and named after the Hawaiian carol of creation, which refers to “the offspring of traveling alone”, University of Arizona (UArizona) statement In the press release.
Kamo’oalewa is about the size of a Ferris wheel and is very small. The orbit is “very like the earth” and becomes bright enough to be seen from the earth for two weeks in April each year, but only large telescopes on the earth can be used. These provide unique opportunities to study it, and this is exactly what the researchers of the new paper did.
In this study, a team of astronomers observed Kamo’oalewa using large binoculars managed by UArizona and the Lowell Discovery Telescope. The researchers found that its spectrum or pattern of reflected light actually matched the spectrum of lunar rocks in the Apollo mission. Although, according to the researchers, the possible answer to the origin of Kamo’oalewa is “speculative,” the results of the study indicate that it may have actually been part of the moon, but just detached.
The researchers wrote: “This explanation implies extensive weathering in space and raises the possibility that Kamo’oalewa may contain lunar material.”
However, exactly how this happened is unclear, especially since there is no other known Asteroid UArizona pointed out that it has been determined that it originated on the moon.
“I looked at the spectrum of every near-Earth asteroid we could visit, and there was no match,” Ben Sharkey, the lead author of the study and Arizona planetary science graduate, said in a university press conference. “This spring, we got much-needed follow-up observations and said,’Wow, this is true.’ It is easier to explain with the moon than with other ideas.”
In addition, its slightly inclined earth-like orbit also adds to the idea that it originated on the moon. As the study’s co-author Renu Malhotra of Arizona explained in a press release, such orbits are “not typical” among near-Earth asteroids.
“A garden-like near-Earth asteroid is unlikely to spontaneously enter a quasi-satellite orbit like Kamo’oalewa,” said Malhotra.
In other words, Kamo’oalewa will not stay on the current track forever. According to Malhotra, they estimate that it entered its current orbit approximately 500,000 years ago and may remain there “in the next 300,000 years.”
Photo: NASA/JSC
