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For only the second time in history, astronomers have discovered a new minimaon of natural origin orbiting the Earth. The minimaon, known as 2020CD3 (CD3 for short), was first discovered by Kacper Werizchos and Teddy Pruyne using data from the Catalina Sky Survey. Once CD3’s orbit was determined to be geocentric, Dr Grigori Fedorets, postdoctoral researcher at Queens University, Belfast, assembled a team of 23 astronomers from around the world to make careful observations of the object to determine his identity. Based on the team’s findings, a paper was published on November 24, 2020 in Astronomical Journal, which characterizes the minimaon.
One of the main reasons for the careful nature of the identification process is the fact that we have been fooled before! In the past, rocket boosters used in the upper stages of lunar missions have been mistaken for asteroids. Both the Apollo 12 and Chinese Chang’e 2 missions left the upper stages in space which briefly passed through the minima. Another hilarious case of mistaking a man-made object for an asteroid is ESA’s legendary Rosetta spacecraft observed by the Catalina Sky Survey in 2007 during an overflight of Earth that was briefly assigned the provisional designation of 2007 VN asteroid.84. There is something intensely funny about a spaceship destined to visit a comet mistaken for an asteroid.
What is CD3 like and how can we be sure it’s not human-related space debris? Like all objects in the solar system, the minimaon experience slight pressure from the solar wind and solar radiation. This effect is directly proportional to the surface of the object in question. By measuring the size of an object and observing the deviation in its orbit from that predicted solely by the influence of gravity, we can obtain useful information about our target.
When asked about this, the main author of the file Astronomical Journal the newspaper Grigori Fedorets commented: “Let’s compare the surface with the mass. For rocket thrusters, which are hollow, the surface to mass ratio is much higher ”. Another way to see it is that it has the sun Less influence on CD3’s orbit than we would expect for anything man-made, leading us to determine that the object is solid. The object is now thought to be made of some kind of silicate. Essentially, as you might expect, it is a rock space.
How big is our new neighbor? is this something to worry about? What would happen if the minimaon collided with Earth? When space rocks are found close to Earth, questions like this inevitably seem to arise. In facing such frightening questions, Fedorets poses it this way; “This particular minima is only a meter or two in diameter. If it were to hit Earth, it would burn in the atmosphere.” Fedorets continues: “… in general; these minima are quite small. ”
Another reason to relax the mind is the fact that CD3 has already left the Earth-Moon system! It is by calculating the path of the object back in time that we know it was a minimum to begin with. “It was discovered as it exited the Earth-Moon system. Before it left, it had been captured for 2.7 years. “Fedorets explained that this capture time is actually quite extensive,” According to our simulations, a minimum or average would only be captured for about nine months … that’s a long time. acquisition longer than we expected “.
Not only did CD3 stay longer than expected, it also rotated slower than most simulated lows, with a rotation period of once every three minutes. Compared to a huge object like a planet, it might look fast, but given the tiny size of this object, it’s a very nice spin.
CD3 is only the second natural minimaon discovered, the first in 2006 RH120, found fourteen years earlier. Should we expect this pace to continue? Not if the astronomical community has its own way.
Vera Rubin’s next Observatory should blow the doors of the minimaon discovery rate. According to Fedorets, the observatory will find many more minimaons. “We would expect to find one every two or three months at best.” With the first light expected in 2021, we may very well be on the brink of a new era in minimal astronomy (along with the myriad of other discoveries associated with observers of this magnitude).
Objects like CD3 are particularly fascinating to astronomers. Unlike minerals on the earth’s surface, which undergo various atmospheric and geological processes, the asteroid material is pristine. Fedorets observes: “They [objects like CD3] contain the oldest material of the solar system and studying them in detail tells us how the solar system was born and formed. “He continues:” It is a rare pleasure for astronomers to find such an object … it would be exciting to go one day to visit one, touch it with some tools and learn more about the solar system … and we don’t really know much about these objects ranging in size from one meter to ten meters. They are not studied much because they are quite difficult to detect. “
Extraordinary discoveries in dark matter, gravitational waves, black holes, supernovae and exoplanets (not to mention both manned and unmanned spacecraft) all garner great titles. These extraordinary stories often inspire many of us to point out that we live in a golden age of astronomy. We shouldn’t overlook small discoveries close to home like CD3. This sofa-sized piece of space rock might be a small thing, but the current and future study of this and similar objects is a big deal.
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Catalina Sky Survey
Rubin Observatory
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