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- Hungarian astronomers have proved the existence of two "pseudo-satellites" orbiting the Earth.
- These dust clouds were discovered for the first time in the 1960s, but they are so difficult to spot that scientists have since debated their existence.
- The conclusions can be used to decide the future of satellites and will have to be taken into account when carrying out interplanetary space missions.
After more than fifty years of star-gazing, debate, and controversy, scientists have confirmed the existence of two "moons" or "pseudo-satellites" consisting of dust orbiting the Earth. Although they intelligently use mathematics, they also claim that the location of these dust clouds confers them unique characteristics.
What are they?
G. Horváth
Artistic representation of Kordylewski's cloud in the night sky (with greatly improved luminosity) at the time of observations.
Kordylewski's clouds are two clouds of dust first observed by the Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski in 1961. They are located at two of the Lagrange points in Earth orbit. These points are locations where the gravity of two objects, such as the Earth and the Moon or a planet and the Sun, is equal to the centripetal required to rotate objects while remaining in the same relative position. There are five of these places between the Earth and the Moon. The clouds rest on what are called points four and five, forming a triangle with the clouds and the Earth at the three corners
. The clouds are huge and occupy the same night space as twenty lunar discs. covering an area of 45,000 miles. They are about 250,000 miles, about the same distance from us as the moon. They are composed entirely of dust particles that reflect sunlight so weakly that most astronomers who searched for them were unable to see them at all.
The clouds themselves are probably old, but the model created by scientists about them suggests that the dust particles that compose them can be washed away by the solar wind and replaced by dust coming from the sun. other cosmic sources, such as comet tails. This means that clouds are barely moving but changing forever.
How did they discover this?
J. Slíz-Balogh
"Pattern of the polarization angle of the sky around Lagrange point L5 of the Earth-Moon system, measured by polarimetric imaging in the green spectral range (550 nm) at 01:14:15 UT, 19 August 2017. The position of L5 is indicated by a white dot In this image, the central region of the Kordylewski dust cloud is visible (bright red pixels) The straight lines inclined are traces of satellites. "
A study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, as well as Hungarian astronomers Judit Slíz-Balogh, András Barta and Gábor Horváth, described how they could find dust clouds with the help of polarized lenses.
The clouds are supposed to polarize the light that bounces on it, configuring the telescopes to look for this kind of light, the clouds were much easier to spot. What scientists have observed, polarized light in patterns that went beyond the telescope lens, matched the predictions of their mathematical model and excluded other possible sources.
Why are we learning this now?
J. Slíz-Balogh
"Mosaic diagram of the polarization angle around the L5 point (white point) of the Earth-Moon system.The five rectangular windows correspond to the fields of vision of the polarimetric imaging telescope with which the polarization of Kordylewski's dust clouds were measured. "
The objects, being clouds of dust, are very pale and hard to see. While Kordylewski was observing them in 1961, other astronomers examined the situation and made mixed findings over the following decades. This has discouraged many astronomers from joining the research, as Judit Slíz-Balogh, co-author of the study, said, "Kordylewski's clouds are two of the most difficult to find, and although they are as close to Earth as the Moon are largely neglected by astronomical researchers, it is intriguing to confirm that our planet has dusty pseudo-satellites in orbit alongside our neighbor lunar. "
Will this have an impact on space?
The Lagrange points were presented as excellent locations for a space station or satellites such as the James Webb telescope, which would require little fuel to stay in place. Knowing a mbadive cloud of dust that could damage sensitive equipment already in place could save money and lives in the future. While we only know the clouds at points four and five of Lagrange for the moment, the authors of the study suggest that it could be more at the other points.
Although the discovery of some clouds of dust does not seem so impressive, it is the result of half a century of astronomical and mathematical work and reminds us that wonders are still hidden in our rear. cosmic court. Although you never have to worry about these clouds, there is nothing wrong with looking at the sky with wonder at the strange and fantastic things we can discover.
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