An asteroid has been discovered which is expected to orbit the Earth like the Moon over the next 1500 years.
Astronomers discovered the asteroid ‘2023 FW13’ on March 28 with the Pan-STARRS1 telescope installed at the Haleakala Volcano summit observatory in Hawaii, USA.
Afterwards, joint researchers from Canada and France used several astronomical telescopes to conclusively confirm the existence of 2023 FW13. According to the Xiao Hengsheng Center of the International Astronomical Union, the diameter of 2023 FW13 is about 10 to 15 m, and the time it takes to orbit the sun is confirmed to be 365.42 days, similar to Earth.
2023 FW13 corresponds to a quasi-satellite that orbits the sun and stays close to Earth.
A quasi-satellite appears to be orbiting the Earth, but is actually bound by the sun’s gravity, not the Earth’s. Also, because it turns outside the earth’s orbit, it moves in a different orbit to the moon’s orbit.
However, some astronomers call it a ‘quasi-moon’ (準, semi-moon) as the Earth influences the orbit of 2023 FW13 and keeps it constantly near the Earth.
Experts predict that the space rock has been orbiting the Earth since 100 BC, and will continue orbiting the Earth for at least another 1,500 years.
“Asteroid 2023 FW13 is much further than the closest point between the Earth and the Moon,” said Dr Alan Harris of the Space Sciences Institute in Colorado, USA. So, there is no concern about colliding with the ground or causing problems on the ground.”
In November 2021, the asteroid Kamo’oalewa, also discovered as Pan-Stars 1, was also confirmed to be orbiting close to Earth.
Camooalewa has a similar orbit to Earth, but orbits the Sun in a slightly more inclined state. When it is closest to Earth, it approaches 14.4 million km and moves away up to 40 million km, and is classified as a quasi-satellite as FW13 2023 because it is attached as a satellite.
Scientists have speculated that Camooalewa was displaced following a meteorite impact on the moon. Of course, it is a broken part of an asteroid that was close to Earth, and it is possible that it has a composition similar to the moon by chance.
A joint research team including Benjamin Sharkey, a researcher at the Institute of Lunar and Planetary Studies at the University of Arizona, USA, and Christian Bailey, director of the Large Binocular Telescope Astronomical Observatory, USA, said, “As a result of observations of Kamoo Alewa since 2017, we discovered that the spectral pattern reflected by sunlight is similar to that of lunar rock. I was informed,” suggesting the possibility that the asteroid originated from the moon.
The researchers predicted that Camooalewa entered this orbit about 5,000 years ago and would remain there for about 300 years.
Reporter Song Hyeon-seo huimin0217@seoul.co.kr
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