The discovery of a "false moon" that has followed the Earth for about two thousand years
Astronomers discovered an "asteroid" that followed the Earth a hundred years ago BC. At first glance, the "false moon" appeared as if it was revolving around the earth, but in fact it is revolving around the sun.
Recently, astronomers discovered an asteroid in the solar system that has followed Earth for two thousand years. Scientists at the Pan-STARRS Observatory discovered the celestial body, which took the name 2023FW13, last March. At first glance, the asteroid appeared as if it were an additional moon orbiting our planet, as reported by the German version of Business Insider.
And a website concerned with space news stated that the asteroid actually revolves around the sun, indicating that it moves approximately in the same orbit and at the same speed as our planet.
Alan Harris, a near-Earth object scientist at the American Space Science Institute, said, "The Earth has nothing to do with the asteroid's movement, but rather its association with our planet by sheer coincidence."
Normally, quasi-moons only track Earth for a few decades, but this “moon” is different. As the data collected by researchers about its orbit led astronomers to the conclusion that the asteroid was located near our planet since about 100 BC.
Other telescopes confirmed the existence of the asteroid, according to Space.com, and the International Astronomical Union officially listed it as a known body last April.
The asteroid is about 20 meters long and is about 14 million km from Earth at its closest point in its orbit. For comparison: our Moon is only about 384,400 km away. Alan Harris, a near-Earth object scientist at the American Institute of Space Sciences, said that it is unlikely that the asteroid will collide with Earth.
This "false moon" is not Earth's first extra moon. In 2016, the Pan-STARRS observatory discovered a hidden rocky moon that may have been separated in the past from our large moon that we can see in the sky, according to the German version of the site.
Source: websites