Astronomers find 'a new moon' orbiting Earth
The Moon is one of the fundamental bodies for the development of life as we know it, on our planet, as it is taking a role in the forming of the waves of our seas and the gravitational process on which the axes support the Earth.
- Technology
- Published Date: 11:47 | 11 June 2023
- Modified Date: 11:53 | 11 June 2023
In addition, it is our faithful companion every night and although sometimes the clouds cover it, we know that it is always there.
Is it possible that we can have two? According to what a recent scientific discovery reports, yes, but it does not mean that we will have two bright objects in the sky at night.
This new rocky object, although it is a natural satellite, is not large enough to influence our daily lives.
The object received the name of 2023 FW13 and the qualification of "almost Moon" by the scientific team that discovered it.
The experts consider the object very different from our night watchman since it orbits quite far from the "hill of the Earth sphere", which is a region of a planetary body where its own gravity is the dominant force that attracts the satellites.
This asteroid was seen for the first time on March 28 of this year, by a scientific team operating the Pan-STARRS survey telescope.
This is an observatory that captures photos of the night sky from its perch atop Haleakala, a dormant volcano on Maui, one of Hawaii's best-known islands.
Scientists, without official confirmation, estimate that it measures between 10 and 15 meters, just a tiny fraction when compared to the Moon, which exceeds 3,400 kilometers.
Experts explain that the cosmic companion has been in the vicinity of the earth since 100 BC and that it will continue to circle our planet for approximately 1,500 more years.
"They do not produce their own light and neither do they particularly reflect sunlight. That makes them very weak despite being very close," says one of the researchers, according to the Daily Mail portal.
Its orbit around the sun takes almost exactly the same time as the earth, 365.42 days (1.0005 years on earth). Although it circles the earth on its orbital journey, the orbit is so elongated that it reaches halfway to Mars and Venus.