‘Unusual’ Asteroid With Shortest Known Orbit Discovered By Astronomers

Astronomers Discover 'Unusual' Asteroid With Shortest Know Orbit

                     Astronauts have made a rare discovery of an asteroid revolving around the sun and whizzing past Earth in every 151 days. The asteroid has been named 2019 LF6. It has remained outside the site of researchers even after being 0.6 miles wide and orbiting near the Earth.

2019 LF6 has the shortest known orbit compared to that of any other asteroid. It was spotted by the astronomers of the California Institute of Technology.

The asteroid has an elliptical orbit and it goes way outside in the outer space compared to the solar system. However, it gets closer to the sun even more than Mercury does.

The orbit of the asteroid is quite impressive because Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Researchers believe that the normal movement of the asteroid is disturbed because of the gravitational power of Venus and mercury. It often deviates from the original plane and this makes it difficult for the researchers to locate it.

Finding an Asteroid of this size is quite rare. Ye found 2019 LF6 using a camera which continuously scans the night sky and searches for the signal that indicates moving asteroids as well as flashing stars. He had very little time to do so because these are visiting for a very short time frame, usually 15 to 20 minutes before sunrise and after sunset.

He added that finding an asteroid which is almost a kilometer big, is rare in the modern day. It is a big achievement because there has been no service discovery in recent years.

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It was only five to ten years ago when asteroids and other Astral bodies were being found out daily because of the improvement of Space Technology. However, most of them have been found and named. Hence, finding a newborn out is quite an unusual event which has occurred after a significant time.

According to him, the asteroid has long remained out of site even after rotating around the sun and passing.

Various astronauts and researchers have a constant eye on the movement of particles and other Astral bodies and the cosmic region. There are thousands of cameras from different countries which are tracking these movements of Astral body is like asteroids.

Recently, Jaxa, the space team of Japan had successfully touched down on an asteroid and scooped out rocks from it to bring back on earth. The motive is to find out the material of which these rocks have been made up of. The activity was conducted by the famous Hayabusa2 Spacecraft, known for its dynamic features. The rock sample will also help in determining the age of asteroid and how it was formed. Hence, it is quite clear that researchers are strictly watching and carrying researches on astral bodies.

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About the Author: Naman Dhyani

Naman is a dedicated writer who is always ready to take new challenges to enhance his quality of work and efficiency. He loves to explore things until he reaches the source. He believes that his fingers are destined for the keyboard and his heart solely for the readers

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