Earth’s new mini-moon is “not a curiosity, but the tip of an iceberg of unknown structure,” explains study author
In 2022, a team led by Raul de la Fuente Marcos from the Complutense University of Madrid identified a mini-moon called 2022 NX1. It was a temporary satellite that orbited our planet for several weeks, and is now also responsible for identifying 2024 PT5. a temporary satellite or mini-moon that will accompany us for almost two months. To better understand the influence of this stellar object, we spoke directly with Marcos the Source.
“The visible spectra of 2022 NX1 and 2024 PT5 are similar and consistent with the spectra of 2016 HO3, an Earth quasi-satellite believed to have originated from the Moon,” explains this expert from the Department of Earth Physics and Astrophysics (Sciences Mathematics). ) from TSUM -. So these three objects suggest that material ejected during cratering from relatively recent lunar impacts may end up in Arjuna-type orbits. and later be temporarily captured as satellites of the Earth itself.”
For de la Fuente Marcos, the importance of the discovery lies not in the fact itself, which could be considered a curiosity in the field of celestial mechanics, but in its consequences. The discovery of a new near-Earth asteroid (NEO) shows that research to find these objects is becoming more efficient. Asteroid 2024 PT5 was discovered by ATLAS on August 7.
“We are only identifying the found object as a future (in a few weeks) temporary satellite of the Earth,” de la Fuente Marcos adds by email. On the other hand, this is not just an NEO, it belongs to a very special subgroup of those that move in orbits around the Sun (heliocentric) with parameters very similar to the orbital parameters of our own planet Arjunas. The first facility of this type was opened in 1991. and because it was the first of its kind, it caused some confusion, and some astronomers concluded that it was an alien spacecraft that was watching us.”
De la Fuente Marcos’ team had previously worked with Arjunas in other studies. That’s why I knew its importance.
“Soon other objects were found in similar orbits and it became clear that this object This was not just statistical curiosity.and the tip of the iceberg of a previously unknown structure, now called the asteroid belt,” confirms this expert.
Although these objects had not previously been detected due to their small size, averaging about 10 m, since they have very narrow windows of visibility from Earth, they are important in the future.
“Every new mini-moon discovered is a possible target for a robotic mission aimed at collecting samples for possible return to Earth or in-situ analysis, or even becoming a target for space mining in search of minerals of economic interest,” de la adds Fuente Marcos. -. To summarize, we can say that the discovery of objects like 2024 PT5 confirms the existence of the Arjuna asteroid beltconfirms that some asteroids in this belt may be of lunar origin and adds candidates for possible low-cost space missions.”
Another question is whetherThere is some possibility of analyzing the material that makes up this object. “Yes, one option is to go there and analyze the rocks on site, or collect samples and bring them back to Earth for analysis,” confirms de la Fuente Marcos, “but this requires many years of planning and some financial investment. This could be done in the medium term for future mini-moon episodes. Another option (already available) is to obtain spectroscopic observations, which decompose the light reflected by the asteroid’s surface. From the spectrum You can determine its chemical composition. In fact, that’s what we did using the world’s largest telescope, GTC. In both cases, the results obtained are compatible with a lunar origin for 2024 PT5. In any case, new scientific results on this interesting object will be announced in the coming weeks.”