Posted on 06/16/2016 10:52:20 AM PDT by smokingfrog
Astronomers have discovered a new “quasi” moon orbiting Earth.
2016 HO3, as the asteroid is called, is at least 40 meters across and could be larger, up to 100 meters, researchers say, but it’s too far from Earth to qualify as a true satellite or mini-moon.
"Since 2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far away as we both go around the sun, we refer to it as a quasi-satellite of Earth," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"One other asteroid -- 2003 YN107 -- followed a similar orbital pattern for a while over 10 years ago, but it has since departed our vicinity. This new asteroid is much more locked onto us. Our calculations indicate 2016 HO3 has been a stable quasi-satellite of Earth for almost a century, and it will continue to follow this pattern as Earth's companion for centuries to come."
(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
2016 HO3, as the asteroid is called, is at least 40 meters across and could be larger, up to 100 meters, researchers say, but it’s too far from Earth to qualify as a true satellite or mini-moon.
“Since 2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far away as we both go around the sun, we refer to it as a quasi-satellite of Earth,”
???
So make up your mind! I’ve never heard of the criteria that it has to be X distance to be a “moon”. If it is in a stable orbit around Earth, then it is a moon.
Or maybe at the right time 2016 HO3 will make a not-so-soft landing here. Something like that is definitely coming soon, maybe within this century.
How soon can this be blamed on (1) global warming, (2) homophobia, (3) Islamophobia, or (4) a member of the Bush family?
So, IIRC, one of the reasons given to demote Pluto was that it had been unable to clear its orbit of smaller bodies (not a moon, of course)?
Don’t forget Trump.
Death Star.
Trumps fault.
NASA should land on this, attach a few rockets to it and then give it as a gift to all the mooselimbs in mecca.
I am sure we can overnight it at several thousand miles per hour.
as part of mooselimb outreach...of course!
Sounds like a candidate for a base of some sort.
It’s Farrakhan’s mothership, perhaps?
If so someone needs to ask them why they didn’t help during Katrina. Is NOLA not chocolate enough for them?
(BTW, ever wonder if certain. Dems realize that there is white chocolate too?)
It's the other end of this guy.... 
HA!
What’s it’s composition?
Be great if it’s got fuel/carbon on it.
“If it is in a stable orbit around Earth, then it is a moon.”
Some light reading ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-orbital_configuration
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