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fromFuturism
4 days agoObject Spotted Near Earth May Be Ancient Spacecraft
Quasi-satellite 2025 PN7 could be remnants of the Soviet Zond 1 spacecraft or its launch stage captured into an Earth-like orbit.
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#arjuna-asteroids #quasi-moon #zond-1 #quasi-satellite #spacecraft-debris #spectral-analysis #quasi-lunar-moons
fromWIRED
1 week agoAstronomers Have Discovered Earth's Latest Quasi-Lunar Moon
After analyzing its trajectory, scientists concluded that the object maintains a 1:1 resonance with the Earth. In other words, it orbits the sun at the same time as our planet. From a distant perspective, this synchronicity makes it look as if the Earth is accompanied by a tiny asteroid-as if it had an additional moon. Unlike the moon, quasi-lunar moons are not gravitationally bound to the Earth. They are ephemeral companions, in cosmological terms, following their own path around the sun. Only at certain times do they come close enough to appear bound.
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