The earth has a second moon – at least for the next 300 years

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The earth has a second moon – at least for the next 300 years

If you look at the sky at night you will see the moon when the sky is cloudless. And maybe a few stars. THE moon, not a moon. After all, we only have one. Or? This is not entirely true, because researchers have been observing another object near the earth for several years: They named it Kamo’oalewa, a Hawaiian term for a celestial body.

However, Kamo’oalewa is too small for a real moon – with a diameter of only around 50 meters. In addition, it does not orbit the earth directly, but shuttles in a corkscrew-like orbit between the earth and the sun, as it is practically dragged back and forth between their forces of attraction. The scientists wondered for a long time what this object could be. It did not resemble an asteroid, as it often occurs near the earth.

What is the mini moon made of?

Asteroids usually glow brightly when exposed to infrared light. Kamo’oalewa, however, remained dark. This made it even more difficult for the researchers to find out more about its composition: it shines “The team led by scientist Benjamin Sharkey from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson reported that it was “extremely weak” and was therefore “difficult to observe.” Eventually, however, they had an idea.

The team compared the material composition of the mysterious mini moon with that of the real moon. Lo and behold: the riddle was solved. Apparently it is Kamo’oalewa about a fragment of the moon, which may have flaked off during an asteroid impact and has since been trailing its orbits alone. The researchers estimate that it will keep our moon company for around 300 years. But then the gravitational pull of the earth and the sun will no longer be able to hold it, as a result of which it will be catapulted out of its orbit and fly away into space on lonely paths.

Source: “Time”

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