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Earth’s second minimaon was the size of a small car and arrived within 8,100 miles of Earth at its closest approach, new data reveals
- Earth captured its second low in February, but new data reveals the details
- Experts found that the 2020 CD3 was the size of a small car – nearly one and a half meters in diameter
- They also determined that at one point it was within 8,100 miles of Earth
- The data shows a rotation speed of about three minutes, making it clear that it was an asteroid
Earth reached its second minimum this year that it orbited the planet for 2.7 years and now scientists have revealed intricate details of the cosmic visitor.
Using data collected with the Lowell Discovery Telescope, the astronomers determined that CDE 2020, or CD3, is nearly five feet in diameter, about the size of a car, and has come close to 8,100 miles from Earth.
The team studied the CD3’s variable brightness, allowing them to see its rotation speed of about three minutes.
These observations have helped to clarify that the object was actually an asteroid and not a relic of man-made space junk, as another object that was found a few months ago.
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Earth has taken its second low this year that orbited the planet for 2.7 years and now scientists have revealed intricate details of the cosmic visitor
Grigori Fedorets of Queen’s University Belfast said: ‘Rotation rate was probably the biggest unanswered question in this research. Lowell’s team has shown that it rotates slower than expected for objects of this size range.’
CD3 2020 was spotted in February by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey.
However, initial observations estimate it to be much larger – experts said it was up to 12 feet in diameter.
The minimaon was seen on February 15 by astronomers Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne and then the team saw it four more times two days later – this was enough evidence to announce that Earth had a new visitor.
Using data collected with the Lowell Discovery Telescope, astronomers have determined that CDE 2020, or CD3, is nearly five feet in diameter, about the size of a car, and arrived within 8,100 miles of Earth at its closer approach.
‘GREAT NEWS. Earth has a new temporarily captured object / possible mini-moon called 2020 CD3. On the night of February 15, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Teddy Pruyne and I found a 20th-magnitude object, ” Wierzchos shared in a tweet on February 25, after the Minor Planet Center, a branch of the ‘International Astronomical Union, has classified the asteroid as a temporarily captured object.
Now, a new study reveals more details about the minimaon that has since returned to space – it left in March.
Lowell Observatory astronomer Nick Moskovitz and former Arecibo Observatory postdoctoral researcher / current scientist Maxime Devogele participated in the effort, assisted in the observation on the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LDT) by Quanzhi Ye of the University of Maryland .
The astronomers used the Large Monolithic Imager on the LDT to observe the rotation of CD3, which revealed a number of features of the asteroid.
“Observing such small objects is challenging and requires a telescope large enough to see them. Additionally, their transient nature means that the window of time to observe them can close quickly, the team shared in a statement.
However, LDT is designed for such events.
The first minimaon was discovered in 2006, and astronomers believed there would be a third this year when they spotted an object with an incoming trajectory towards Earth. However, it was later discovered that it was a discarded satellite
“This object was not bright enough to be studied for long,” Moskovitz said.
“The fact that we have this telescope in our backyard and we were able to respond quickly really made a difference.”
While minimions are rare, the team expects more to appear in the next decade.
According to Fedorets, “The minimums are expected to be discovered in large numbers in the following decade, with the opening of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory scheduled for 2023”.
The first minimaon was discovered in 2006, and astronomers believed there would be a third this year when they spotted an object with an incoming trajectory towards Earth.
Dubbed 2020 SO, the entity has been in an Earth-like orbit for more than a year and is set to be trapped in our planet’s gravity starting in October and remaining until May 2021.
However, it was later determined that it was a discarded part of the Surveyor 2 Centaur rocket launched in 1966.
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