{"id":10138,"date":"2022-02-06T08:42:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T08:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1379686"},"modified":"2022-02-06T08:42:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T08:42:03","slug":"astronomers-discovered-a-new-asteroid-sharing-earths-orbit-heres-why-it-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=10138","title":{"rendered":"Astronomers discovered a new asteroid sharing Earth\u2019s orbit \u2013 here\u2019s why it matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Research has shown that the Earth trails an asteroid barely a kilometer across in its orbit about the Sun \u2013 only the second such body to have ever been spotted. It goes around the Sun on average two months ahead of the Earth, dancing around in front like an excited herald of our coming.<\/p>\n

This object, known as 2020 XL\u2085, was first spotted in December 2020 using Pan-STARRS telescopes<\/a> on the summit of Haleakala on the Hawaiian island of Maui. But the determination of its orbit required follow-up observations using the 4.1-meter SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research) telescope<\/a> in Chile.<\/p>\n

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<\/i><\/a>500 years of 2020 XL5 orbits plotted, relative to Earth. By Phoenix7777 \u2013 Own work data source: HORIZONS System, JPL, NASA CC BY-SA 4.0<\/figcaption>