Astronomers say recent data indicates that the particle known as Kamoʻoalewa may have separated from the moon by a meteor impact that occurred millions of years ago, before it became a “quasi-moon” of the planet.
The data indicate that the space rock is similar in composition to samples collected from a rock formation called Fra Mauro in one of the lunar highlands, according to what was published on the New York Times website.
Camu Oliwa – which is 165 feet long – was discovered in 2016 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope based in Hawaii. The researchers named this strange asteroid (469219) Kamoʻoalewa, meaning “an oscillating celestial body.”
Because it orbits the Earth frequently, this shy particle never approaches more than 9 million miles from Earth, which is 38 times farther than the distance between the Moon and Earth, and the farthest distance between Earth and the strange part is 25 million miles.
Astronomers’ calculations indicate that the “new moon” began tracking our planet in a relatively stable manner about a century ago, and is expected to continue orbiting the Earth for several centuries to come.
But where exactly did Kamu Oliwa come from? Especially since it is difficult to study such a particle with telescopes due to its small dimensions and its tendency to hide in the shadows.
according to Study published in the journal Earth and Environment Communications A team of scientists reported that they may have been able to solve the mystery, as while observing Camu Oliwa during brief moments when it was covered in sunlight, astronomers concluded that it appears to be composed of the same type of rocky material found on the moon’s surface.
“The space particle is indeed an extremely small version of the moon, and that based on its orbit and composition, Camu Oliwa may be a part of the moon, separated from it by a past meteorite impact,” said Benjamin Sharkey, a graduate student at the University of Arizona and lead author of the study.
Scientists say Kamu Oliwa may look like a miniature moon, but it is not. Unlike the Moon, which is bound by the Earth’s gravity, this particle is more bound by the Sun’s gravity, which means that even if the Earth ceases to exist, Kamu Oliwa will continue to revolve around the Sun, a phenomenon known as “quasi-moon”.
Astronomers confirm the presence of four other objects, such as “Kamu Oliwa” next to the Earth, but it differs from it by having a more stable orbit.
It is worth noting that in April of 2017, “Kamu Oliwa” was brightly lit when the Earth was located between it and the sun, and when astronomers looked at it through two telescopes in Arizona and used the reflected light to identify its minerals, they saw a lot of silicates and minerals scattered in rocky bodies found in the solar system.
Follow-up observations confirmed that “Kamu Oliwa” silicate is very similar to that found on the Moon. But scientists also did not rule out the idea that “Kamu Oliwa” was part of an asteroid that had previously been torn apart and subsequently linked by gravity to the Earth and the Moon.
“The only way to be sure is to send a spacecraft to this small object,” said Paul Byrne, an astronomer at Washington University in St. Louis, which is what China already intends to do by sending a space probe to land on “Kamo Oliwa” and collect samples to return it to Earth. later in the decade.
“Until then, there remains the possibility that, on our journey through space, we may have the remnants of a lunar impact,” Dr. Byrne adds.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
The word asteroids means meteorites and other celestial bodies, which penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere and fall to the Earth, and may cause severe destruction at the sites of their fall.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
Asteroid 2011 ES4 passed close to our blue planet on September 1. And its path was 120,000 kilometers away from Earth, which is three times closer than the moon, but it remains a safe distance, as space centers have reassured. Although scientists do not know much about this asteroid, they have determined its diameter between 22 and 49 meters.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
The European Space Agency intends to send a probe to the asteroid Didymos, which is about 800 meters in diameter and has a small satellite of 170 meters called Didymon.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
It will first enter the orbit of the asteroid “Dedimos” through a probe on a mission known as (AIM), and then a ground robot will be placed on the asteroid. The probe will transmit information about the asteroid and send it using a laser to Earth. In addition, two small cube-shaped satellites will approach Didymos’ moon.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
Two years later, in 2022, the two asteroids will pass Earth at a distance of eleven million kilometers, and this is a relatively close distance. At that time, a NASA spacecraft will set a target for its moon, Didim.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
Then you smash it hard, and this will result in the moon being displaced from its orbit around Didymus something. The probe, the robot and the two satellites will follow everything in detail. It is assumed that high-resolution images and measurement results will help in finding out how asteroids in the future will be removed from their orbit, to prevent them from colliding with the Earth.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
There are countless asteroids rippling through space, several kilometers in diameter. Scientists observe these asteroids closely, but they have not yet discovered any asteroid that is expected to hit Earth within the next 100 years.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
In February 2013, an asteroid weighing 130,000 tons, called 2012 DA14, headed toward Earth hard. It approached it at a distance of 27,000 kilometers, a distance closer to us than some satellites.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
About 65 million years ago, a huge meteorite fell on the Yucatan Peninsula of present-day Mexico. This gave rise to the “Chixulub Crater”, which has a diameter of 300 km. Experts believe that this incident led to the extermination of the dinosaurs.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
Meteorites are similar in appearance to stones found on Earth. But its outer surface looks scorched and has holes. The reason for this is the melting of the meteorite when it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
As for the comets, they consist of a gas cloud, a huge tail of gas and rocks, and countless dust particles.. If dust particles from comets reach the Earth’s atmosphere, the temperature of the particles rises to three thousand degrees Celsius and begins to light up, and thus meteors are generated.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
And when a comet passes very close to Earth, it falls on countless meteors. And every time a meteor falls to the ground, the view is wonderful, as here at the site of “Stone Heng” in England.
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Reckless space projectiles threaten to destroy our blue planet
The European Space Agency is building an early warning system against meteorites in Frascati, Italy. Data from telescopes. And data will be poured into it by observatories such as this observatory located on the island of “Tenerife”, the largest of the Canary Islands of Spain.
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