Astronomers from the USA: the quasi-satellite of the Earth Kamooalev turned out to be a fragment of the Moon be a fragment of the moon formed by the impact of a meteorite. The article of scientists was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.
Quasi-satellites are small celestial bodies that are temporarily captured by the Earth's gravity or that follow in an adjacent orbit. Discovered in 2016 by Kamoalev (2016 HO3), whose diameter is 45-60 meters, it has the most stable orbit among them. At the same time, due to its nature, the asteroid can only be observed for several weeks in April.
Using observations with the Large Binocular Telescope and the Lowell Observatory, astronomers from the University of Arizona showed that Kamoaleva has a red spectrum reflections. It turned out to be very similar to the spectrum of minerals mined by the Apollo missions from the lunar surface. It took the researchers four years to double-check the results.
Analysis of the asteroid's orbit shows that, most likely, it originated as part of the Earth-Moon system. Perhaps Kamoaleva arose as a result of an impact event or destruction under the influence of the gravitational forces of the Earth and the Moon of a larger body. The first hypothesis is supported not only by the spectrum of the quasi-satellite, but also by the low speed of its movement. “It is unlikely that a typical near-Earth asteroid will suddenly move to the orbit of a quasi-satellite, like Kamooalev's. It will not remain in this orbit for long – only for 300 years. According to our estimates, it was entrenched in this orbit about 500 years ago, ”said one of the researchers, the University of Arizona processor Renu Malhotra.