[ad_1]
published
The researchers say the Earth has two so-called "dust moons" after their study confirmed the presence of astronomical clouds in orbit around our planet.
Key points:
- The dust clouds were first described in 1961, but their existence was questioned
- The researchers say that they finally photographed the clouds
- The location could be used to park telescopes in the future
Clouds, however, are virtually invisible.
They were discovered about 400,000 kilometers from the Earth by Hungarian researchers and are extremely weak, which had already caused skepticism about their existence.
The clouds were first reported by the Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski in 1961, who made this discovery by exploring two points of the Earth-Moon system where two gravitational forces interact to stabilize the position of objects. called Lagrange point.
It was close to one of these points, called L5, where Dr. Kordylewski noted two "bright areas," now known as Kordylewski's dust cloud.
According to the Royal Astronomical Society, it was thought that this collection of space dust was moving around the Earth as the Moon moved in its orbit.
However, since clouds were difficult to observe, some scientists questioned their existence.
But now, researchers say they have captured images of clouds using a polarizing filter system attached to a camera lens.
The camera captured the polarized light reflected by the dust, confirming the elusive clouds.
"Kordylewski's clouds are two of the most difficult objects to find, and although they are as close to Earth as the moon, they are largely ignored by astronomers," said the co-author. of the study, Judit Sliz-Balogh, in a statement from the Royal Astronomical Society.
"It's intriguing to confirm that our planet has dusty pseudo-satellites in orbit alongside our lunar neighbor."
Ms. Sliz-Balogh, along with Andras Barta and Gabor Horvath, described the clouds in a research paper published in the November issue of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Royal Astronomical Society has proposed that the location of these dust clouds be a potential site for space probes in orbit.
Future research will examine Kordylewski's clouds to determine if dust could threaten the equipment parked there.
Topics:
astronomy, space,
science and technology,
exploration of space,
Hungary
Source link
