NASA Follows Asteroid Moving Closer to Earth from Sun's Orbit
2024-10-07
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Scientists have discovered a small asteroid that recently moved closer to Earth's orbit.
2The object was first observed August 7 by two astronomers from Spain's Complutense University of Madrid.
3The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, is believed to be about 10 meters long.
4It usually orbits around the sun.
5But Earth's gravitational forces recently pulled the object closer to our planet.
6Scientists sometimes call such objects "mini-moons."
7This is because they behave similarly to the permanent moon orbiting Earth when they are captured by gravity.
8But they are much smaller and only temporarily stay in Earth's orbit.
9The American space agency NASA said in a statement that 2024 PT5 is "not quite a mini-moon" because it will never be fully captured by Earth's gravity.
10However, it described the asteroid as "an interesting object" the agency plans to follow, or track, with radar-equipped telescopes.
11NASA noted the traveling asteroid presented no danger to Earth.
12NASA and its international partners continuously search the skies for what scientists call near-Earth objects.
13Such objects include asteroids and comets that come within 50 million kilometers of Earth's orbit.
14The search system, called ATLAS, involves four different telescopes.
15Two of the telescopes are based in Hawaii. Another operates in Chile and the other sits in South Africa.
16NASA explains that ATLAS is designed to search the whole sky several times each night looking for moving objects.
172024 PT5 was identified by the telescope observing station in Sutherland, South Africa.
18The discovery was made by two astronomers from Complutense University of Madrid - Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos.
19They recently described the find in the publication Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.
20The Spanish astronomers said it appeared 2024 PT5 is part of a group of near-Earth objects belonging to the Arjuna asteroid belt.
21The objects in this asteroid belt are believed to be "surrounding the path followed by the Earth-moon system," they wrote.
22Such objects are likely more common than we think, said Richard Binzel, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
23He was not involved in the latest research.
24Binzel told The Associated Press, "This happens with some frequency, but we rarely see them because they're very small and very hard to detect."
25But he noted that in recent years, progress in space observation technologies had made it possible to identify more of these moon-like objects.
26Binzel added that currently, it is not known whether the asteroid broke off from a larger asteroid.
27He said the space rock might even be a piece of our moon "that got blasted out."
28NASA said such an asteroid could have been created by our moon being struck by an asteroid a very long time ago.
29One of the discovering scientists, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, told the AP in an email that because of its size and brightness, 2024 PT5 can only be seen from Earth with special equipment.
30NASA said teams at the agency's Center for Near Earth Object Studies are continually tracking the movements of 2024 PT5.
31The center expects the asteroid to remain at a distance about nine times farther away from Earth than the moon.
32Scientists say it will remain gravitationally linked to Earth until November 25.
33NASA plans to use its large Goldstone Solar System Radar observer to follow the asteroid.
34The object is set to make another close pass of Earth in January 2025, when it should stay about five times the distance between Earth and the moon.
352024 PT5 is then expected to turn away from Earth "as it continues its orbit around the sun," NASA said.
36After that, the asteroid is not expected to pass close by Earth until 2055.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Scientists have discovered a small asteroid that recently moved closer to Earth's orbit. The object was first observed August 7 by two astronomers from Spain's Complutense University of Madrid. 2The asteroid, named 2024 PT5, is believed to be about 10 meters long. It usually orbits around the sun. But Earth's gravitational forces recently pulled the object closer to our planet. 3Scientists sometimes call such objects "mini-moons." This is because they behave similarly to the permanent moon orbiting Earth when they are captured by gravity. But they are much smaller and only temporarily stay in Earth's orbit. 4The American space agency NASA said in a statement that 2024 PT5 is "not quite a mini-moon" because it will never be fully captured by Earth's gravity. However, it described the asteroid as "an interesting object" the agency plans to follow, or track, with radar-equipped telescopes. NASA noted the traveling asteroid presented no danger to Earth. 5NASA and its international partners continuously search the skies for what scientists call near-Earth objects. Such objects include asteroids and comets that come within 50 million kilometers of Earth's orbit. 6The search system, called ATLAS, involves four different telescopes. Two of the telescopes are based in Hawaii. Another operates in Chile and the other sits in South Africa. NASA explains that ATLAS is designed to search the whole sky several times each night looking for moving objects. 72024 PT5 was identified by the telescope observing station in Sutherland, South Africa. The discovery was made by two astronomers from Complutense University of Madrid - Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos. They recently described the find in the publication Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 8The Spanish astronomers said it appeared 2024 PT5 is part of a group of near-Earth objects belonging to the Arjuna asteroid belt. The objects in this asteroid belt are believed to be "surrounding the path followed by the Earth-moon system," they wrote. 9Such objects are likely more common than we think, said Richard Binzel, an astronomer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was not involved in the latest research. 10Binzel told The Associated Press, "This happens with some frequency, but we rarely see them because they're very small and very hard to detect." But he noted that in recent years, progress in space observation technologies had made it possible to identify more of these moon-like objects. 11Binzel added that currently, it is not known whether the asteroid broke off from a larger asteroid. He said the space rock might even be a piece of our moon "that got blasted out." NASA said such an asteroid could have been created by our moon being struck by an asteroid a very long time ago. 12One of the discovering scientists, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, told the AP in an email that because of its size and brightness, 2024 PT5 can only be seen from Earth with special equipment. 13NASA said teams at the agency's Center for Near Earth Object Studies are continually tracking the movements of 2024 PT5. The center expects the asteroid to remain at a distance about nine times farther away from Earth than the moon. Scientists say it will remain gravitationally linked to Earth until November 25. 14NASA plans to use its large Goldstone Solar System Radar observer to follow the asteroid. The object is set to make another close pass of Earth in January 2025, when it should stay about five times the distance between Earth and the moon. 2024 PT5 is then expected to turn away from Earth "as it continues its orbit around the sun," NASA said. 15After that, the asteroid is not expected to pass close by Earth until 2055. 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, NASA and Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 18_____________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20asteroid - n. a rocky object that goes around the sun like a planet 21comet - n. an object in space that leaves a bright line behind it in the sky 22frequency - n. how often something happens 23detect - v. to discover or identify something, especially something that is difficult to see hear, smell, etc. 24blast - n. an explosion