NASA: Mystery object is 54-year-old rocket, not asteroid
4 years, 3 months ago

NASA: Mystery object is 54-year-old rocket, not asteroid

India TV News  

A mysterious object temporarily orbiting Earth is a 54-year-old rocket, not an asteroid after all, astronomers confirmed Wednesday. But NASA’s top asteroid expert, Paul Chodas, quickly suspected it was the Centaur upper rocket stage from Surveyor 2, a failed 1966 moon-landing mission. Chodas was proven right after a team led by the University of Arizona’s Vishnu Reddy used an infrared telescope in Hawaii to observe not only the mystery object, but — just on Tuesday — a Centaur from 1971 still orbiting Earth. “It was teamwork that wrapped up this puzzle.” The object formally known as 2020 SO entered a wide, lopsided orbit around Earth last month and, on Tuesday, made its closest approach at just over 31,000 miles.

Earth Nasa Hawaii Object Centaur Chodas  centaur  rocket  earth  orbiting  nasas  mystery  hawaii  nasa  asteroid  54yearold  telescope  object  upper

History of this topic

A Rocket From 1966 Has Found Its Way Back to Earth’s Orbit
4 years, 3 months ago

A Rocket From 1966 Has Found Its Way Back to Earth’s Orbit

Wired  

Fifty-four years ago, NASA launched the Surveyor 2, an uncrewed mission to explore the surface of the moon. NASA's Surveyor program was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of launching, communicating with, controlling, and landing an uncrewed spacecraft on the moon, thereby paving the way for later crewed missions. Surveyor 1, launched on May 30, 1966, was a resounding success, easily …

Nasa confirms ‘asteroid’ spotted above Earth was actually a rocket booster from the 1960s
4 years, 3 months ago

Nasa confirms ‘asteroid’ spotted above Earth was actually a rocket booster from the 1960s

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The object, known as 2020 SO, is in fact a Centaur rocket booster from the 1960s, the …

Fake Asteroid? Mystery Object Seen by NASA is a Piece of Rocket From an Old Failed Moon Mission
4 years, 5 months ago

Fake Asteroid? Mystery Object Seen by NASA is a Piece of Rocket From an Old Failed Moon Mission

News 18  

A ‘mini-moon’ was spotted orbiting the Earth by Catalina Sky survey in September. Something went wrong, and the rocket was swooped away into the sun’s orbit, instead of its intended lunar landing. Paul Chodas, the director of Centre for Near-Earth object Studies at NASA, was the first to claim in September that it wasn’t any space rock but their own …

Earth to get a mini-moon in November: NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket
4 years, 5 months ago

Earth to get a mini-moon in November: NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket

Firstpost  

The object appears to be an old rocket from a failed moon-landing mission decades ago, finally making its way back to Earth. “It’s been a hobby of mine to find one of these and draw such a link, and I’ve been doing it for decades now.” Chodas speculates that asteroid 2020 SO, as it is formally known, is actually the …

Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket
4 years, 5 months ago

Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket

India TV News  

The jig may be up for an “asteroid” that’s expected to get nabbed by Earth’s gravity and become a mini moon next month. “It’s been a hobby of mine to find one of these and draw such a link, and I’ve been doing it for decades now.” Chodas speculates that asteroid 2020 SO, as it is formally known, is actually …

New ‘asteroid’ identified last month is now believed to be junk from failed moon landing
4 years, 5 months ago

New ‘asteroid’ identified last month is now believed to be junk from failed moon landing

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. What caught Chodas’ attention is that its near-circular …

Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket
4 years, 5 months ago

Fake asteroid? NASA expert IDs mystery object as old rocket

India TV News  

The jig may be up for an “asteroid” that’s expected to get nabbed by Earth’s gravity and become a mini moon next month. “It’s been a hobby of mine to find one of these and draw such a link, and I’ve been doing it for decades now.” Chodas speculates that asteroid 2020 SO, as it is formally known, is actually …

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