Could we mine Earth's newly discovered companion?
A convention developed to name each one after a hero from the same story. Only those trailing Jupiter are given Trojan names, such as Hektor, whereas those ahead of Jupiter are give Greek names, such as Achilles. Collectively, whether at L4 or L5 they are all referred to as Trojans.Small numbers of Trojan asteroids have now been discovered associated with Neptune , Uranus and Mars . But 2020 XL5 is only the second Trojan companion of Earth to have been found. The first, 2010 TK7, was .
There are probably many more Earth Trojans, but they are hard to discover from Earth because they can only ever be seen fairly low in the pre-dawn sky if at L4 like both 2010 TK7 and 2020 XL5, or just after sunset if at L5 . Their orbits are not stable over millions of years, so they can't be remnants that have been there ever since Earth's formation but must have drifted into place later.
However, the SOAR observations were able to show that 2020 XL5 appears to be a carbon-rich asteroid . So it is a sample of what thewas built from, and it would be instructive to study Earth's Trojan companions in more detail as examples of unaltered material. But could we mine them or use them in other ways? Santana-Ros notes that 2020 XL5 has an orbit that bobs above and below Earth's orbital plane. This means that to maneuver a spacecraft into a rendezvous would require considerable velocity change. That would probably need too much fuel to be practical. The same applies to 2010 TK7.
However, the study points out that if other Earth Trojans are found in orbits that are less tilted, these might make handy bases as staging posts for exploration of the solar system. They'd be much easier to take off from than from the Earth or moon because their gravity is so slight. They could even be a source of resources that we could mine.
Indonesia Berita Terbaru, Indonesia Berita utama
Similar News:Anda juga dapat membaca berita serupa dengan ini yang kami kumpulkan dari sumber berita lain.
Astronomers Identify Second Earth Trojan Asteroid: 2020 XL5 | Sci-News.com2020 XL5 will be an Earth Trojan asteroid for at least 4,000 years, according to a paper published in the journal Nature Communications.
Baca lebih lajut »
Supermountains May Have Played Crucial Role in Evolution of Life on Earth | Sci-News.comThe supermountains formed twice in Earth’s history: the first between 2 and 1.8 billion years ago and the second between 650 and 500 million years ago.
Baca lebih lajut »
Planet Earth Contains Over 9,000 Tree Species Yet to Be Discovered, Scientists SayAn ambitious, first-of-its-kind effort to estimate how many different kinds of trees exist on Earth suggests our planet is teeming with thousands of tree species that still haven't been discovered.
Baca lebih lajut »
Bet You Can't Guess Which of These Images is of Earth and Which of JupiterTurbulence on both planets produced these incredibly similar patterns. Which one is which?
Baca lebih lajut »
Exploring Earth with NOAA Citizen ScienceCitizen scientists enrich NOAA's massive environmental data library, in support of researchers, educators and the public at large.
Baca lebih lajut »
Near-Earth Comet Exploded over North America about 1,500 Years Ago | Sci-News.comArchaeologists have found meteorites, microspherules, iridium and platinum anomalies, and burned charcoal-rich habitation surfaces at 11 archaeological sites of the Hopewell culture in three states stretching across the Ohio River Valley.
Baca lebih lajut »