In February 2020 , the Minor Planet Center reported that amini - moonhad been orbiting the Earth for several years undetected . Now , astronomers are preparing for the comer of a potentialnewmini - moon in the coming weeks . AsEarthSkyreports , a mysterious object is expect to enter the satellite ’s sphere in October 2020 and lodge around until May 2021 .
stargazer spotted the target on September 17 , 2020 , using the Pan - STARRS1 scope in Maui , Hawaii . Dubbed 2020 SO , it ’s jaunt toward Earth at just 1880 mph . The low velocity combined with its current flight gunpoint to the object getting caught in the major planet ’s gravitative pull some time next month .
In the unaffixed definition of the term , a moon is any lifelike satellite trapped in a major planet ’s domain . That ’s why the rocky physical object spot circling the Earth earlier this year was dubbed a " 2nd Sun Myung Moon " even though it ’s the size of a elevator car . Though 2020 SO is on runway to become a satellite , it may not be natural . It ’s been designated an asteroid , but astronomer have grounds to believe it ’s in reality a objet d’art of space dust leftover from a 50 - year - old rocket launching .
The object criterion more or less 20 to 45 feet across , making it a plausible compeer for the 41 - foot Atlas LV-3C Centaur - D rocket . On September 20 , 1966 , NASA sent an uncrewed lunar lander to space aboard an Atlas LV-3C Centaur - D. One of its thruster did n’t light , and this caused the spacecraft to crash - solid ground on the synodic month . It ’s possible that flight of steps controllers lost caterpillar tread of the rocket during the accident and it ’s been drifting through the solar system in the years since . The target ’s low swiftness and its Earth - like reach around the sunlight ( nail a revolution once every 1.06 long time ) would fit this scenario .
Whether our new visitant will be a true miniskirt - moon or some manmade space debris making a return trip is still indecipherable . Experts go for to learn more about the nature of the object by studying the lighter reflected off its Earth’s surface as it gets close to Earth .
[ h / tEarthSky ]
