Earth has a second moon. This was discovered in a recent study. It’s a quasi-moon right now. A space rock (asteroid) known as a quasi-moon orbits the Sun and the Earth simultaneously but is held in place by the Sun’s gravity. To put it simply, the Sun pulls the space rock in its direction.
With the aid of the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have found a quasi-moon known as 2023 FW13. They claimed that it had been discovered after being present on earth for 2100 years (100 BC). It will continue to orbit the planet for another 1500 years, or until the year 3700. It will then exit the Earth’s orbit after that. The earth won’t be in danger as a result of this.
In addition to revolving around the Earth, 2023 FW13 also spends the same number of days (365) revolving around the Sun.
WHY 2023 FW13 is a Quasi-Moon
Satellites are another name for quasi-moons. When viewed, they appear to be orbiting the Earth similarly to the moon. However, rather than being constrained by the gravity of the Earth, they are. They are called quasi for this reason. The earth’s gravity holds the moon in place, however.
In What way is it different than Our Moon ?
New Moon – FW13 orbits outside of the “hill sphere” of Earth in 2023. Any area of a planet where the planet’s gravitational pull is strongest is known as the “Hill Sphere.” The satellites are drawn towards the planet by this force. The ‘hill sphere’ of the Earth has a radius of 1.5 million kilometres, whereas the radius of 2023 FW13 is 1.6 million kilometres. However, the ‘Hill Sphere’ of our Moon only has a radius of 60 thousand kilometres.
