Astronomers Find An Asteroid That's Been Hanging Around Earth For A Century
- 8 years ago
NASA astronomers recently discovered our planet has a companion in the form of a small orbiting asteroid named 2016 HO3.
The trek around the sun is long, but it appears Earth isn’t making the journey alone.
NASA astronomers recently discovered our planet has a companion in the form of a small orbiting asteroid named 2016 HO3.
Though the celestial body is always around, it keeps a wide berth.
Paul Chodas, one of the researchers, said that the asteroid “…never wanders farther away than about 100 times the distance of the moon…”
He also noted it doesn’t come, “…much closer than about 38 times the distance of the moon.”
Astronomers first spotted the space rock in late April, and estimate it measures between 120 and 300 feet in diameter.
While the discovery is new, the companion body itself is not.
Experts believe it’s been hanging around for about a hundred years already.
The team anticipates the asteroid will continue to travel alongside Earth throughout the coming centuries.
The trek around the sun is long, but it appears Earth isn’t making the journey alone.
NASA astronomers recently discovered our planet has a companion in the form of a small orbiting asteroid named 2016 HO3.
Though the celestial body is always around, it keeps a wide berth.
Paul Chodas, one of the researchers, said that the asteroid “…never wanders farther away than about 100 times the distance of the moon…”
He also noted it doesn’t come, “…much closer than about 38 times the distance of the moon.”
Astronomers first spotted the space rock in late April, and estimate it measures between 120 and 300 feet in diameter.
While the discovery is new, the companion body itself is not.
Experts believe it’s been hanging around for about a hundred years already.
The team anticipates the asteroid will continue to travel alongside Earth throughout the coming centuries.