Posted on 02/10/2013 2:09:02 PM PST by BenLurkin
Earth's gravity may not have the gravitas of Jupiter, but the planet regularly plucks small asteroids passing by and pins them into orbit. The mini-moons don't stay for long. Within a year or so they resume their looping, twisting paths like crazy straws around the sun. But others arrive to take their place.
Simulations show that two asteroids the size of dishwashers and a dozen half-meter (1.6 feet) in diameter are orbiting Earth at any given time. Every 50 years or so something the size of a dump truck arrives. So far, there's been just one confirmed sighting.
...
A paper published last year showed that, in theory, a cloud of temporarily captured asteroids circles Earth at all times, but that the largest object is just about a meter (3 feet) in diameter.
"These are really difficult to detect with current technology," said astronomer Paul Chodas, with NASA's Near Earth Object program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
So far, the only confirmed captured asteroid that orbited Earth was RH120, which most recently visited from September 2006 to June 2007. Initially, the object was suspected of being a spent upper-stage motor from an Apollo rocket, but follow-up observations by ground-based radars determined the object was not metallic.
"There is great interest in tracking these Temporarily Captured Objects (TCOs), because for a short time they are easily accessible for both scientific study and, possibly, eventually, resource utilization," Chodas wrote in an email to Discovery News.
In addition to being small, mini-moons are difficult to find because they only hang around for a relatively short time, between six and 18 months.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.discovery.com ...
eleventeen.
That was back in 67 ... or was it 8 ... hmmm ... maybe 9.
OK.. I can understand capturing them but how do they escape again? It’s not like their speed increases, right?
There should be a way to send up a spacecraft to gobble one up and return it to Earth so we can study a bigger space rock.
Global Warming.
Let’s imagine the first eleven passes aren’t near the gravitational influence of the moon but number twelve is — bingo.
okay, that makes sense now
Are they the size of an undocumented dishwasher or a mechanical commercial dishwaster?
I was wondering the same thing.
Thanks to you both for asking and answering.
We need to permanently park one the size of an aircraft carrier in orbit so we can start burrowing in for a real space station.
OK.. I can understand capturing them but how do they escape again? It’s not like their speed increases, right?
Slingshot effect, that is how the Explorers and Viking sat. was sent out of the solar system
thanks
We need to permanently park one the size of an aircraft carrier in orbit so we can start burrowing in for a real space station.
How about burrowing into the Moon, it is in stable orbit and only about 200000miles from us
Here’s a cool little orbital/gravity simulator that might help visualize who it might happen.
http://www.nowykurier.com/toys/gravity/gravity.html
This is one possibility of asteroid mining. An orbiting space station designed to capture and harvest these temporary moons at first, then if it works, capturing near Earth asteroids and even comets.
Granted, asteroid composition varies tremendously, for example 433 Eros, which is about the size of Manhattan, is believed to have more highly valuable platinum group metals than exist in all of Earth’s crust.
There are definite advantages to a lunar base but I’m personally thinking in a different direction.
I’m thinking more in the long term for deep space travel where bigger is better and asteroids are a ready made base for the large ships and crews needed.
However learning to do it on the moon would be the right first step. The more people you can put in a lunar base or space ship the better. More people means more skill sets and less need of cross training. Instead of 4 or 5 people intimately familiar with every system, 100 people with familiarity with different sets of systems means sending less phDs and more plumbers.
Thanks, crip.
Now I’ll never get the firewood finished. ;)
Also Venus ~ but less frequent events and with larger bodies. They more or less share Earth’s orbit or a while and then Venus’ orbit.
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