In an intriguing chapter of space exploration, astronomers have revealed new evidence that points to the lunar origin of a asteroid close to Earth, named Kamo’oalewa.
It is a rock the size of a Ferris wheel that makes a unique orbit around 14.4 million kilometers from our planet every April.
Probable fragment of the Moon orbits planet Earth
Image: Getty Images/Reproduction
The story of Kamo’oalewa began in 2016, when the object was discovered, intriguing the scientific community. However, the mystery deepened even further when analyzes in 2021 revealed that its composition was surprisingly similar to that of the Moon.
Now, a recent study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment on October 23, presents a compelling theory about how the asteroid it may have been diverted from its original trajectory through an ancestral impact.
Furthermore, this discovery opens up the possibility that other lunar fragments could be wandering around the solar system.
“We are now establishing that the Moon is a most likely source of Kamo’oalewa,” says study lead author Renu Malhotra, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona.
Two notable features attracted the attention of astronomers to Kamo’oalewa. Firstly, it acts as a quasi-satellite of Earth, orbiting so close to our planet that it appears to be a natural satellite, although its true orbit is synchronized with the Sun.
Second, the asteroid is believed to remain close to Earth for millions of years, a rare feature among near-Earth objects. Earth.
These peculiarities prompted a spectral analysis of the asteroid in 2021, revealing that its emitted and absorbed light indicated a lunar rock composition.
Malhotra noted that the decision to examine Kamo’oalewa’s spectrum was only made due to its unusual orbit and that if it had been a typical near-Earth asteroid, this connection would never have been established.
The researchers simulated the impact of asteroids on the Moon and the gravitational forces that would affect the ejected fragments, concluding that there is a small probability of some of these fragments ending up in orbits close to Earth.
This finding defied expectations, as most scientists believed that lunar material released during lunar impacts would return to Earth. Moon or it would fall to Earth, rather than drifting through space in distant orbits around the Sun.
