Posted on 02/04/2017 4:20:04 PM PST by BenLurkin
For 10 days this month, OSIRIS-REx will investigate whether or not Trojan asteroids exist at certain points in Earth’s orbit called Lagrange points. Though Jupiter has Trojan asteroids, it’s unclear whether or not Earth’s Lagrange points host similar objects. After all, only one Earth Trojan has ever been found.
“The Earth orbits around the Sun, and the Earth has a gravitational field and the Sun has a gravitational field,” explained Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS REx’s principal investigator. “Because of that property, there are certain points in space where those two fields balance each other out, called Lagrange points.”
OSIRIS-REx will be tuning its instruments to search for trojans at two Lagrange points called L4 and L5, which are stable enough that asteroids could feasibly exist there. These points are located 60 degrees ahead of and 60 degrees behind the Earth in its elliptical orbit around the Sun.
A lot of research regarding Earth’s origins focuses on meteorites. But most of the meteorites on Earth hail from the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Looking at the trojan asteroids our planet shepherds might provide a more accurate snapshot of the material our planet formed from.
(Excerpt) Read more at gizmodo.com ...
Algebra perturbs
Trigonometry baffles
“... the material which formed our planet.” :)
Not if you're a celebrity. (I have it on good authority — if you're a celebrity, they'll let you ... in)
Common Core ?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.