Mysterious asteroid may be a piece of the moon.. a surprising discovery

Arab Weather - Live the love of Qatar - Recent research indicates that the near-Earth asteroid known as Kamo'oalewa (469219 Kamo'oalewa ) may be a stray piece of the moon. Scientists have concluded that this asteroid may have originated from the impact crater Giordano Bruno on the far side of the moon.

In a study published April 19 in the journal Nature Astronomy , scientists concluded that Ka Mo' Ualoa may have been ejected into space when a mile-wide (1.6-kilometer-wide) space rock impacted the moon, creating the Jordan Bruno crater. Ka Mo' Ualoa's light reflections match those of eroded lunar rocks, and its size, age and rotational speed match the 22-kilometer-wide Jordan Bruno crater on the moon's far side.

Astronomical details of Ka Mo' Ualoa

Ka Mo'ualoa was discovered in 2016 by researchers at the Halley Observatory in Hawaii. The asteroid is between 30 and 60 meters in diameter, about the size of a large Ferris wheel, and rotates at a speed of up to one revolution every 28 minutes. It orbits the sun on a path similar to Earth, occasionally coming as close as 16 million kilometers to Earth.

China's plan to explore asteroid

China plans to launch a mission to bring back samples from Ka Mu' Ualoa in 2025. Called Tianwen-2 , it will return pieces of the asteroid to Earth about 2.5 years later. The discovery is a source of unexpected excitement for the mission and adds additional technical challenges to the return process.

Scientific influences

Follow-up studies indicate that the spectra of light reflected from Ka Mu' Ualoa are very similar to those reflected by lunar rock samples brought back to Earth by lunar missions, as well as meteors known to be from the Moon. This suggests that the asteroid may indeed be a piece of the Moon, making its study important for understanding the Moon's history and its effects on other celestial bodies.

This discovery could lead to a rethinking of how near-Earth asteroids form, and further complicate future exploration missions like Tianwen-2 . In the future, we may discover more secrets about how Ka Mu' Ualoa is connected to the Moon and how it could impact space science.

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