New ‘quasi-moon’ found near Earth has actually been taking a trip along with our world considering that 100 BC

Researchers just recently found an asteroid that tags along with Earth throughout its annual journey around the sun.

Called 2023 FW13, the area rock is thought about a “quasi-moon” or “quasi-satellite,” suggesting it orbits the sun in a comparable timespan as Earth does, however is just somewhat affected by our world's gravitational pull. It is approximated to be 50 feet (15 meters) in size– approximately comparable to 3 big SUVs parked bumper to bumper. Throughout its orbit of the sun, 2023 FW13 likewise circles around Earth, coming within 9 million miles (14 million kilometers) of our world. For contrast, the moon has a size of 2,159 miles (3,474 km) and comes within 226,000 miles (364,000 km) of Earth at the closest point of its orbit, according to NASA

2023 FW13 was very first observed in March by the Pan-STARRS observatory, which lies atop the volcanic mountain Haleakalā in Hawaii. The asteroid's presence was then validated by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii and 2 observatories in Arizona prior to being formally noted on April 1 by the Minor Planet Center at the International Astronomical Union, a network of researchers accountable for designating brand-new worlds, moons and other things in the planetary system.

Some quotes recommend that 2023 FW13 has actually been Earth's cosmic next-door neighbor considering that a minimum of 100 B.C. which the area rock will continue to follow this orbital course till around A.D. 3700, Adrien Coffinetan astronomer and reporter who initially classified the asteroid as a quasi-moon after modeling its orbit, informed

“It appears to be the longest quasi-satellite of Earth understood to date,” Coffinet stated.

Following 2023 FW13's preliminary discovery in March, area observers went into the information and discovered observations of the asteroid dating all the method back to 2012, according to Live Science's sibling website Space.com

Regardless of hovering fairly near to Earth, this quasi-satellite most likely isn't on a clash with our world.

“The excellent news is, such an orbit does not lead to an affecting trajectory ‘out of the blue,'” Alan Harris

This is not Earth's only quasi-companion; a various quasi-satellite called Kamo'oalewa was found in 2016. The rock sticks likewise near our world throughout its orbit around the sun, and a 2021 research study recommended that this asteroid might really be a piece of Earth's moon

Kiley Price is a Live Science personnel author based in New York City. Her work has actually appeared in National Geographic, Slate, Mongabay and more. She holds a bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University, where she studied biology and journalism, and is pursuing a master's degree at New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program.