[ad_1]
American scientists discovered the unique 2019 AQ3 asteroid, which runs very close to the Sun and completed its translation in just 165 days. "We have discovered an extraordinary celestial body whose orbit rarely exceeds the orbit of Venus," said Quanzhi Ye of the Institute of Technology. from California to Pasadena, USA, adding that he was part of an extremely rare group of asteroids.
In recent times, scientists have observed asteroids close to the Earth, compiled a list and determined the level of their potential danger. As the number of asteroids of this type can reach one million, researchers have been forced to create a special scale to badess the danger.
Quanzhi Ye and his colleagues discovered one of the most extraordinary objects of this type by examining the data received by the ZTF camera. , installed at the Palomar Observatory last March to control supernova explosions and other short-term space events.
One of its main objectives is the "census" of asteroids close to the Earth that populate the inner part of the solar system with a size similar to that of the Cheliabinsk meteor. The ZTF's wide field of view and high speed of operation make it possible to find such objects and control the timing of its approach to the Earth.
Most celestial bodies of the inner part of the solar system surround the plane of the ecliptic and do not deviate significantly. However, the 2019 AQ3 is tilted 47 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic, making the asteroid in the most unusual object of the inner part of the solar system. Plus, it is the "fastest" since it revolves around the Sun in 165 days and one of the largest in space near the Earth.
According to astronomers, the AQ3 of 2019 could not become a "killer". of civilization. "It approaches the Earth at a minimum distance of 35 million kilometers, 90 times more than the average distance between the moon and our planet."
Previous calculations indicate that the object is closer to the Sun. a point a little further than Mercury and away from it at 0.77 astronomical unit, or average distance between the Earth and the star 2019 AQ3 spends most of its time in the orbit of Venus.
Its unusual orbit and the still unknown physical characteristics of the asteroid do not qualify it within a family of smaller celestial bodies.Scientists had previously placed it in the list of objects , which include twenty or so objects that never depart more from the sun than an astronomical unit.
Quanzhi Ye and his colleagues hope that the discovery of similar asteroids will allow them to create a clean family for the QQ 2019 and its "cousins." Scientists plan to call it a volcano, in the honor of the hypothetical volcano planet, whose existence, according to astronomers of the nineteenth century, would explain the extraordinary nature of the Mercury movement by its orbit.
[ad_2]
Source link
