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Hungarian astronomers have proved the existence of two "pseudo-satellites" orbiting the Earth. These dust clouds were first discovered in the 1960s, but they are so hard to spot that scientists have been discussing their existence ever since. to be used to decide where to place satellites in the future and will have to be taken into account when carrying out interplanetary space missions.After more than fifty years of star observation, 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. HorvathArtist had the impression of the Kordylewski cloud in the night sky (with a greatly increased luminosity) at the time of the observations. The Kordylewski 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 at what are called points four and five, forming a triangle with the clouds and the Earth at the three corners. The clouds are enormous and occupy the same space in the night sky as twenty lunar disks; 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 to learn more suggests that the dust particles that compose them can be washed away by the solar wind and replaced by dust from other sources. cosmic, such as the tails of comets. This means that clouds are barely moving but changing forever.
How did they discover this? J. Slíz-Balogh "In this image, the central region of Kordylewski's dust cloud is visible (bright red pixels). Inclined straight lines are traces of satellites. "In their study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Hungarian astronomers Judit Slíz-Balogh, András Barta and Gábor Horváth described how they were able to find the dust clouds at the same time. Using Polarized Lenses Since the clouds had to polarize the light that bounced off them, by configuring the telescopes to look for this type of light, the clouds were much easier to spot. What scientists have observed, polarized light in patterns beyond the objective of the telescope, corresponded to the predictions of their mathematical model and excluded other possible sources.
Why are we learning it now? Slíz-Balogh "Mosaic of polarization angle around point L5 (white point) of the Earth-Moon system. The five rectangular windows correspond to the imaging telescope with which the Kordylewski cloud patterns were measured. The objects, being clouds of dust, are very pale and difficult 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, explains: "Kordylewski's clouds are two of the most difficult objects to find. and, although they are as close to Earth as the Moon, are largely ignored by the researchers. astronomy. It is intriguing to confirm that our planet has dusty pseudo-satellites in orbit alongside our lunar neighbor. "
Will this have an impact on space travel
? Lagrange points have been proposed as excellent locations for a space station or satellites like the James telescope Webb should be put into orbit because they would need little fuel to stay in. Knowing a mbadive dust cloud that could damage sensitive equipment already present could save money and lives in the future. that we only know the clouds at points four and five of Lagrange for the moment, the authors of the study suggest that there might be more at the other points.Although the discovery of some clouds of dust may seem less impressive, it is the result of half a century of astronomical and mathematical work and reminds us that wonders are still hidden in our cosmic backyard. Never have to worry about these clouds again, there is nothing wrong with looking at the sky with wonder at the strange and fantastic things we can discover.
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