Object spotted in September arrives less than 50,000 kilometers from Earth and may be a piece of a 1966 rocket

Scientists may soon solve the mystery of 2020 SO – an object discovered in September that could be NASA’s 1966 Surveyor 2 Centaur rocket returning home or just an asteroid.

At approximately 3:50 a.m. ET on Tuesday, 2020 SW approached within 31,605 miles of Earth, allowing astronomers to collect images and data of the mysterious object.

It was first discovered by the Pan-STARRS investigation in Hawaii on September 17 and announced two days later by the Minor Planet Center.

Astronomers originally believed 2020 SO to be an incoming asteroid, but the details of its size appear to match the properties of the 1966 Centaur which is 41.6 feet long – the object is said to be between 12 and 46 feet long.

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At approximately 3:50 a.m. ET on Tuesday, 2020 SW approached within 31,605 miles of Earth, allowing astronomers to collect images and data of the mysterious object. The top image shows 2020 SW as a trail of light across the sky

Pan-STARRS spotted the object on the evening of September 17 following a slight but sharply curved path in the sky, leading them to believe it was an asteroid.

Another team in California, the NASA-funded Center for Near-Earth Objects (CNEOS), saw the same object but thought something was wrong because of its orbit.

CNEOS Paul Chodas is one of those who is suspicious of the discovery and has decided to “go back in time” to see the object’s orbit back in the hopes of finding out where it was before making its way in Earth’s gravity.

Chodas found that 2020 SO had come somewhat close to Earth a few times over the decades, but its approach at the end of 1966, according to his analysis, would have been close enough that it came from Earth.

Astronomers originally believed 2020 SO to be an incoming asteroid, but the details of its size appear to match the properties of the 1966 Centaur which is 41.6 feet long – the object is said to be between 12 and 46 feet long. In the photo, the rocket before its launch on the moon

“One of the possible paths for 2020 SO brought the object very close to the Earth and the Moon at the end of September 1966,” Chodas said.

“ It was like a eureka moment when a quick check of lunar mission launch dates showed a match with the Surveyor 2 mission. ”

NASA’s JPL has said it will use spectroscopy when 2020 SO makes its closest approach this morning, confirming exactly what it is.

2020 SO is currently stuck in Earth’s gravity and orbiting the planet.

Chodas told the New York Times that he would escape the clutches of our planet by March 2021 and embark on his journey around the sun once again.

However, he also notes that “ in 2036 he returns, ” giving scientists another chance to probe 2020 SO.

2020 SO is currently stuck in Earth’s gravity and orbiting the planet, but it will escape the grips of our planet by March 2021 and once again embark on its journey around the sun

The Surveyor 2 lunar lander was launched to the moon on September 20, 1966 aboard an Atlas-Centaur rocket.

The mission was tasked with reconnaissance of the lunar surface prior to the Apollo missions, which led to the first manned lunar landing in 1969.

Shortly after takeoff, Surveyor 2 successfully separated from its Centaur upper stage amplifier as planned.

But control of the spacecraft was lost a day later when one of its thrusters failed to ignite, throwing the craft into a spin.

The spacecraft crashed on the Moon just southeast of Copernicus Crater on September 23, 1966.

The exhausted Centaur upper stage rocket passed the Moon and disappeared into an unknown orbit around the Sun.

But NASA and other astronomers might find that she has returned home for a brief visit.