Amateur astronomers reveal that Asteroid 2022 NX1 is earth's mini-moon

Detected by amateur astronomers in Namibia


Illustration of an asteroid

TIRAMILL AS
ADAPTED BY SAM
18/02/2023 - 15:11 CST

A mini-moon is an asteroid that the Earth traps in its gravity and that enters into the same orbit as our planet.

These objects can share some rotations with our planet and then disappear and this is the case of Asteroid 2022 NX1, first detected by amateur astronomers in Namibia.

Asteroid 2022 NX1's nature has also been investigated by Spanish scientists, who published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias (IAC) determine that this mini-moon is an asteroid composed of different types of rock and metal.

Hence, they've ruled out other hypotheses, such as a fragment that could have been detached from the Moon.

The size of this 2022 NX1 is believed to be between five and 15 meters. Its size, according to scientists, makes this object the largest mini-moon spotted so far.

This asteroid has accompanied the planet in 1981 and 2022 and, according to their forecasts, will make a third visit in 2051.

In any case, the researchers point out that it is complicated to know its evolution within 50 years with the current data.

This asteroid is the third mini-moon to be detected. The first was 2006 RH120, which accompanied us temporarily between 2006 and 2007, and the second, 2020 CD3, was detected in February 2020.
Will Asteroid 2022 NX1 hit the Earth?

It has been revealed that there is no risk in the event of a collision with the Earth.