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Astronomers Want To Hunt Down Earth's Mini-Moons

Posted by samzenpus on from the that's-no-mini-moon dept.

astroengine writes "The Earth has one permanent moon — you know, 'The Moon' — but at any given time there are thought to be two temporary interlopers that were once asteroids, but get captured by our planet's gravity to become mini-moons for a few months or even years. They eventually get flung back out into interplanetary space. This ultimate 'catch and release' provides an interesting opportunity for any future asteroid mission. So now astronomers want to find them, possibly using the newly-minted Hubble-class spy telescopes donated to NASA by the National Reconnaissance Office."

8 of 44 comments (clear)

  1. What a letdown by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was six when I learned that the Man on the Moon wasn't real. And now I'm hearing that he doesn't even do his own stunts.

    1. Re:What a letdown by Gilmoure · · Score: 2

      Yes Sheldon.

      --
      I drank what? -- Socrates
  2. Wacky physics, or... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    They left out the part that it's not the Earth alone somehow capturing and releasing these objects, it's the interaction between Earth's gravity and the moon's gravity that can result in a temporary capture.

    1. Re:Wacky physics, or... by osu-neko · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They left out the part that it's not the Earth alone somehow capturing and releasing these objects, it's the interaction between Earth's gravity and the moon's gravity that can result in a temporary capture.

      And the gravity of the Sun, Jupiter, Mars, and your neighbor's Honda Civic... and that's just the tip of the iceburg. Pick a flower, and you move the furthest star. However, listing everything that plays a role in this (which is, literally, everything) is rather cumbersome, so it's fair to simply list the one object that has the greatest influence and leave out the 10^80 other objects involved.

      --
      "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    2. Re:Wacky physics, or... by Deadstick · · Score: 2

      it's fair to simply list the one object that has the greatest influence

      I'd go one step further and include the Sun. Solar gravity gradients are within the same order of magnitude as those of the Moon.

    3. Re:Wacky physics, or... by Daniel+Dvorkin · · Score: 2

      If the Earth, the Moon, and the asteroids were the only objects in the universe, the capture would still happen the way it does. If Earth, the asteroids, and the rest of the universe were still present but the Moon wasn't there, it wouldn't. (The asteroids might still be captured by Earth's gravity, of course, but not in the way they are now.) So I think you don't really understand OP's point.

      --
      The correlation between ignorance of statistics and using "correlation is not causation" as an argument is close to 1.
  3. Mini moons? by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 2

    Those are space stations!

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
    1. Re:Mini moons? by PhxBlue · · Score: 2

      Not yet, but if we're serious about developing a next-generation space program, then they we should look at making that a true statement.

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      !#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.