Channel: National Science Foundation

Category: Science & Technology

Tags: nsfsolar systemsart2010 tk7space explorationsouthern astrophysical research telescopetrojanstarsastronomygravitationalspace2020 xl5national science foundationastronomerastrophysicalgravityearthsciencelagrangeasteriodorbitgalaxytelescopeearth trojan

Description: An international team of astronomers observed 2020 XL5 and confirmed it is an Earth Trojan asteroid orbiting the sun along the same path as Earth. 2020 XL5 is the second, and larger, Earth Trojan asteroid discovered. Composed of material dating to the origins of the solar system, Earth Trojan asteroids offer insight into the building blocks of the galaxy. The team of U.S. National Science Foundation researchers used images of the sky's horizon at daybreak, captured by the Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope in Chile, a component of NSF's NOIRLab, to study the Trojan asteroid and discovered it is about three times the size of the only other confirmed Trojan asteroid. 2020 XL5 is almost three-fourths of a mile wide. The other Earth Trojan asteroid, 2010 TK7, is approximately 400 yards across, about one-fourth of a mile.