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地球有了第二个迷你月亮



在地球日益拥挤的轨道上运行的大约有5000颗卫星,

50万块人造碎片和只有一个确认的自然物体:月球。

现在,在亚利桑那大学Steward天文台工作的天文学家们认为,他们可能已经发现了第二颗天然卫星——或者至少是一颗临时卫星

也许在春天过后,会离开地球,因为已经绕地球三年了。

It's been with us for three years, astronomers say. Sadly, it'll probably be gone by spring.

Tumbling through Earth's increasingly crowded orbit are about 5,000 satellites,

half a million pieces of human-made debris and only one confirmed natural object: the moon.

Now, astronomers working out of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory think they may have discovered a second natural satellite — or at least a temporary one.

Meet 2020 CD3, Earth's newest possible "minimoon."

While astronomers suspect there is at least one minimoon circling Earth at any given time,

these tiny satellites are rarely discovered, likely because of their relatively small size.

Until now, only one confirmed minimoon has ever been detected: a 3--foot-wide (0.9 meters) asteroid called 2006 RH120, which orbited Earth for 18 months in 2006 and 2007.

Now, there may be a second. Kacper Wierzchos, a senior research specialist for the NASA and University of Arizona-funded Catalina Sky Survey, announced the discovery of a new temporarily captured object via Twitter yesterday (Feb. 25). The object appears to measure between 6.2 and 11.5 feet (1.9 to 3.5 m) in diameter and has a surface brightness typical of carbon-rich asteroids, Wierzchos wrote.

在地球日益拥挤的轨道上运行的大约有5000颗卫星,

50万块人造碎片和只有一个确认的自然物体:月球。

现在,在亚利桑那大学Steward天文台工作的天文学家们认为,他们可能已经发现了第二颗天然卫星——或者至少是一颗临时卫星

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