Astronomers were able to photograph the death of a temporary satellite of the Earth

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The meteor which exploded over Australia, could be a satellite of our planet.

Astronomers from Queen’s University, Curtin said that the car, which burned down in the skies over Australia a few years ago, it may be a rare temporary “mini-satellite” of the Earth – a celestial body, which for some time remained in orbit of the planet.

A fireball that burned in the skies of Australia, 22 August 2016, has attracted the attention of scientists. His flight from several points removed the network of automatic cameras of the Desert Fireball Network, it is possible to calculate the trajectory of a celestial body. It showed that it can be not just an asteroid, and one of the “temporary satellites” of the Earth.

Sometimes the attraction of the planet captures not very massive and quick body, which for some time remain in its orbit. Observations show that out of 10 million near-earth asteroids “temporary satellites” was only 18 thousand. However, scientists have several years of observing the asteroid 2006 RH120, which from time to time joins the Earth in its flight.

Now, however, scientists said that the meteor which was seen in the skies of Australia in 2016, also could be the “temporary companion”. According to the researchers, it reached 11 km/s, and the trajectory was almost vertical. A corner almost eliminates the likelihood that the body is a fragment of an artificial object, and slow motion unlike conventional near-earth asteroid. According to the researchers, to move it to the regular orbit could unusual rapprochement of the Earth and the moon, through which they passed once in a while.

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