• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Advertisement
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Tech

Earth is about to lose its second moon

February 2, 2021
in Science & Tech
Reading Time: 2min read
0
Earth is about to lose its second moon
76
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook

In News: Earth’s second moon will make a close approach to the planet next week before drifting off into space, never to be seen again.

About Earth’s second moon (2020 SO)

  • Astronomers call it 2020 SO — a small object that dropped into Earth’s orbit about halfway between our planet and the moon in September 2020. 
  • Temporary satellites like these are known as minimoons, though calling it a moon is a bit deceptive in this case. 
  • In December 2020, NASA researchers learned that the object isn’t a space rock at all, but rather the remains of a 1960s rocket booster involved in the American Surveyor moon missions.
  • This non-moon mini moon made its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 1, but it’s coming back for one more victory lap. 
  • Mini Moon 2020 SO will make a final close approach to Earth on Tuesday (Feb. 2) at roughly 140,000 miles (220,000 kilometers) from Earth, or 58% of the way between Earth and the moon.

2020 CD3 mini-moon

  • Astronomers have observed a small object orbiting Earth, which they have dubbed a “mini-moon” or the planet’s “second moon”.
  •  It is actually an asteroid, about the size of a car; its diameter is about 1.9-3.5 m. 
  • And unlike our permanent Moon, the mini-moon is temporary; it will eventually break free of Earth’s orbit and go off on its own way.
  • Dubbed 2020 CD3, the mini-moon was discovered by Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Arizona..
  • When an asteroid’s orbit crosses Earth’s orbit, it can sometimes be captured into the latter orbit. This is what happened with the 2020 CD3. 
  • It is now orbiting at a distance farther from Earth. Such an asteroid is called a Temporarily Captured Object (TCO). 
    • The orbit of such objects is unstable. 
    • They have to contend with the gravitational influence of our permanent Moon as well as that of the Sun. 
    • Once caught in Earth’s orbit, such objects usually remain for a few years before they break free and go into independent orbit around the Sun.

 

Source: livescience.com
Tags: PrelimsScience Reporter

Related Posts

Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD)

Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD)

February 22, 2021
Curiosity rover mars

Curiosity rover mars

February 22, 2021
Draft Humans in Space Policy for India, 2021

Draft Humans in Space Policy for India, 2021

February 20, 2021
Perseverance Rover

Perseverance Rover

February 20, 2021
Draft Space Based Remote Sensing Policy of India – 2020

Draft Space Based Remote Sensing Policy of India – 2020

February 20, 2021
Geo Tagging Technology

Geo Tagging Technology

February 19, 2021
Geo-Fencing Technology

Geo-Fencing Technology

February 19, 2021
Nanobodies

Nanobodies

February 18, 2021
NAVARITIH

NAVARITIH

February 18, 2021
Detailed Genome Map of the Malaria Mosquito Vector

Detailed Genome Map of the Malaria Mosquito Vector

February 17, 2021
Please login to join discussion
February 2021
MTWTFSS
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
« Jan    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society

Browse by Tags

AIR Down to Earth EU g20.utoronto.ca GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 imi3.nhp.gov.in Kurukshetra Mains News Paper PIB powergridindia.com Prelims RSTV Science Reporter Survey Yojana Zee news
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society

Browse by Tag

AIR Down to Earth EU g20.utoronto.ca GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 imi3.nhp.gov.in Kurukshetra Mains News Paper PIB powergridindia.com Prelims RSTV Science Reporter Survey Yojana Zee news

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In