Researchers viewed an object near the sun as an ordinary asteroid – they were wrong

What do the two asteroids look like? NASA

A NASA discovery is causing a sensation at NASA. The "2017 YE5" object, which was first seen in December of last year, consists of two overlapping parts.

When the researchers recently discovered that an apparently normal asteroid was a twin pair, they were stunned.

The fact that two objects describe themselves in the space is not abnormal, NASA researchers reported. That the two sides are about the same size, it's a small sensation. In the case of double asteroids, one is usually larger than the other

NASA intensifies its research efforts

In December 2017, the small asteroid did not caused a lot of turmoil. In June 2018, however, he reached his closest point to Earth. At that time, the distance between the Earth and the asteroid was only 6 million kilometers; a possibility that science could not miss.

That the asteroid is in fact a twin pair has been suspected since its discovery. Now, it is certain that it is a double asteroid.

The Arecib Observatory in Puerto Rico and the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia have studied the sensational spatial dream. A biostatistical radar was used. In this case, a signal is drawn from point A to the target object and point B receives the reflection.

Research has shown that the diameter of the two parts of asteroids is about 900 meters. For mutual encirclement parts need between 20 and 24 hours. In addition, it is likely that the material is as black as coal.

The researchers were very surprised that the two parts of the object reflect the radar beam differently. This suggests that the two halves differ in structure, construction and surface. We can talk little about identical twins.

"What's better than a double rainbow? A rare double asteroid! Recent observations have shown that an asteroid discovered last year actually consists of two objects of 900 meters that are in orbit, "writes NASA on Twitter.

The origin of the asteroid gives rise to riddles

How is such an unusual constellation still a mystery to science?

As NASA has announced now, it could even be that both parties do not originally belong and have fortunately developed their own orbit. At the present time, we are still evaluating data that should provide information on the density and internal structure of the asteroid. But to learn more about the subject, a whole series of further investigations is needed.

However, in the near future, we can not expect good news. It will take some time before the celestial body returns to a position that could attract researchers. To surround the sun, the asteroid needs 1730 days.