Recently discovered asteroid 2023 FW13 has created a bit of a stir among asteroid watchers. It turns out to be on an orbit that is not only in a 1:1 resonance with the Earth, but follows a path that actually circles Earth — albeit on an orbit that is so eccentric that it sweeps out halfway to Mars and in halfway to Venus.
But this newfound asteroid, if preliminary orbital calculations are correct, will handily eclipse that record. Some estimates say it has circled Earth since at least 100 BC and will likely continue to do so until around AD 3700. If that’s correct, 2023 FW13 would be the most stable quasi-satellite of Earth ever found.
David L. Chandler
Interesting find! As the article mentions, its near-match to Earth’s orbit makes this asteroid easier to reach by spacecraft to potentially perform practice deep-space missions. I wonder if we could also park space telescopes on or around it – landing isn’t quite the right term, since the rock is only a dozen meters small and would have negligeable gravity – perhaps one that monitors near-Earth space for potentially hazardous asteroids. Since 2023 FW13’s orbit keeps it close to Earth, we could communicate with the telescope in near real-time and receive quick warning about new objects it finds. We could also practice asteroid deflection with other, more controlled methods than the DART mission.
Post a Comment