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Friday, August 31, 2012

An asteroid with us on our trip around the sun


Astronomers detected an asteroid which follows the orbit of the Earth around the sun. The rock-between 200 and 300 meters in diameter and 2010 TK7-christened it the Trojans, which are those that share an orbit with a planet near stable points. Because they remain in front of or behind the planets in the same orbit, never collide with them.

According to the science specialist for the BBC, Jonathan Amos, it is a fascinating finding because the relative stability and proximity of the Trojan asteroids makes them potential targets for future space missions, when they go beyond the International Space Station (EEI).


The Trojan orbiting near the Earth was difficult to locate, as this type of asteroids appear mostly during the day, making them difficult to see. That is why it was necessary as the WISE telescope, sensitive to infrared light, to locate it.

Nearby objects

Trojans can be targets of future space missions. The WISE was launched in 2009 and since then has examined about 500 near-Earth objects, 123 of which were not known. The study authors analyzed data from these rocks, looking for candidates to be Trojans. The follow-up work that scientists realized the telescope Canada-France-Hawaii confirmed the status of 2010 TK7. This asteroid is currently about 80 million miles from Earth and should not be closer than 25 million miles of our planet.

Researchers say its orbit appears stable for the next 10,000 years. But the existence of 2010 TK7 no surprise. Jupiter, Neptune and Mars have numerous rocks located in the so-called Lagrange points, 60 degrees ahead or behind the orbit of the planets.

In the case of Jupiter, the number of Trojans is 1,000.

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