Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Free Space
  Kordylewski dust clouds in Earth orbit

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   Kordylewski dust clouds in Earth orbit
YankeeClipper
Member

Posts: 617
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Mar 2011

posted 11-07-2018 02:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Earth has two extra, hidden "moons." First spied in the 1960s, the huge dust clouds have now been confirmed — and may affect plans for future space exploration, according to National Geographic.
After more than half a century of speculation and controversy, Hungarian astronomers and physicists say they have finally confirmed the existence of two Earth-orbiting "moons" entirely made of dust.

As they describe in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the team managed to capture snapshots of the mysterious clouds lurking just 250,000 miles away, roughly the same distance as the moon.

Researchers previously inferred the presence of multiple natural companions to Earth, but the dust clouds weren't actually seen until 1961, when their namesake, Polish astronomer Kazimierz Kordylewski, got a glimpse. Even then, their presence was questioned.

"The Kordylewski clouds are two of the toughest objects to find, and though they are as close to Earth as the moon, are largely overlooked by researchers in astronomy," says study coauthor Judit Slíz-Balogh, an astronomer at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. "It is intriguing to confirm that our planet has dusty pseudo-satellites in orbit alongside our lunar neighbor."

Blackarrow
Member

Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-07-2018 06:27 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Interesting, but not entirely surprising that dust accumulates at the L4 and L5 points in the Earth-Moon system.

But what about the L4 and L5 points in the Sun-Earth system? If Jupiter can have Trojan asteroids, could the Earth?

oly
Member

Posts: 905
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: Apr 2015

posted 11-07-2018 07:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for oly   Click Here to Email oly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Solar system dust bunnies and pet hair.

SpaceAholic
Member

Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 11-07-2018 10:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Blackarrow:
But what about the L4 and L5 points in the Sun-Earth system?
2010 TK7 (in L4).

YankeeClipper
Member

Posts: 617
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Mar 2011

posted 11-08-2018 09:17 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
On a related theme, 2016 HO3 is notable as currently the smallest, closest, and most stable (known) quasi-satellite of Earth. Although it is too distant to be considered a true natural satellite of Earth, it is the best and most stable example to date of a near-Earth companion, or quasi-satellite.

YankeeClipper
Member

Posts: 617
From: Dublin, Ireland
Registered: Mar 2011

posted 11-08-2018 10:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for YankeeClipper   Click Here to Email YankeeClipper     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Some background information on claimed moons of Earth.

Blackarrow
Member

Posts: 3118
From: Belfast, United Kingdom
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-09-2018 08:19 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Blackarrow     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I see no references to Toro, an Apollo asteroid which was being portrayed in the popular press (I think in the early 1970s) as the Earth's "second moon." It obviously isn't (it merely has an orbital resonance with the Earth) but that didn't stop the press.

But returning to the issue of the Kordylewski dust clouds, I vaguely remember some suggestion on cS (probably just after the cancellation of Constellation) that instead of the Moon, future destinations for NASA astronauts might include the L4 or L5 points in the Earth-Moon system to explore any accumulations of rock and dust. I suspect a crew right in the middle of a Kordylewski cloud would have trouble seeing any evidence of it.

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement