J002E3 (asteroid). Mysterious near-Earth object J002E3

J002E3 - an asteroid, in 2002, literally exploded part of the media. Sensational headlines attracted attention and promised a lot of interesting information. The names of articles such as "Our planet has a second satellite!" And "Earth is approaching an asteroid!" For some time met both in print media and on the expanses of the network. However, the storm quickly settled down. What it was, and what trace left behind J002E3 (an asteroid), and is discussed below.

Opening an object

As is known, astronomy is one of the few sciences in which the need for tireless activity of amateurs has been preserved. Many discoveries became possible thanks to the vigilance of people who consider watching the sky their hobby. So it was this time.

An amateur astronomer from California, Bill Young, discovered a body previously unseen by anyone in a near-earth orbit. He considered the object the second companion of our planet, which he hastened to inform his professional colleagues. It happened on September 3, 2002. The object in the Center of minor planets was assigned the number J002E3. The asteroid immediately became the center of heated debate among scientists.

Characteristics of the new satellite

The flight trajectory of the object was evaluated. It turned out that it is almost twice as far from the Earth as the Moon. At the maximum approach to the planet, J002E3 is 300 thousand kilometers away from it, with a minimum of 840. About one revolution around our planet, an asteroid spends about fifty days.

This cosmic body differs from the Moon in size. One of the first estimates of the dimensions of the asteroid characterized it as a 50-meter diameter object. All these data allowed to assume that the supposed second natural satellite of the Earth has in fact an artificial origin.

Scientific interest

Due to the peculiarities of the gravitational interaction of the moon and our planet, any objects that fall into a near-earth orbit are pushed out of it after some time. Therefore, the researchers came up with a logical assumption that the asteroid came out on a similar flight trajectory more recently. And this had for astronomers almost more significance than the origin of J002E3. The asteroid, according to scientists, was captured by the gravitational field of our planet around April-May 2002, that is, shortly before the discovery.

It is the mechanism by which an extraneous cosmic object hits a near-earth orbit and is of great interest to astronomers. The fact is that it plays a decisive role even if such large bodies as the Moon fall into this zone. So far, scientists have not been able to get so close to checking their own hypothesis of gravitational capture of the satellite. Similar events for the whole scientific history have not happened yet.

Natural or artificial

As for the origin of the new satellite, some possible versions were discussed for some time, but experts quickly came to a unified conclusion. The asteroid J002E3 was recognized as the third stage of the launch vehicle "Saturn-5", which carried off the Apollo-12 spacecraft from Earth. Presumably, most of the time since 1969, when it was in the open space, the stage circled orbit around the Sun and only on the eve of the discovery, as already noted, was captured by the Earth's gravity.

Detailed research

Soon the opinion of scientists was supported by evidence. Specialists of the University of Arizona used spectral analysis to obtain detailed information about the facility. After analyzing the light reflected from J002E3, they came to the conclusion that traces of titanium oxide are present on the surface of the cosmic body. This compound was contained in white paint, which covered the body of the carrier rocket "Saturn-5". Similar results were obtained by the researchers after studying the object using an infrared telescope.

A bit of history

It is worth dwelling on what the Apollo program was. This project, culminating in one of the most significant events in the history of space exploration, was developed by NASA. The ambitious goal of the program was a manned landing on the moon. The Apollo program, adopted in 1961, was implemented for several years and was completed in 1975. The first successful landing on the Moon, which had a huge international significance, was made in 1969. The astronauts who set foot on the surface of the satellite of our planet were Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Delivered them to the moon "Apollo 11". Then five more satellites were lowered onto the satellite by astronauts .

The project is still unbeatable. In the history of space exploration, there were no more successfully implemented programs for manned landing of people on an object similar to the satellite of our planet. Among the achievements of the project:

• "Apollo-8" is a ship that was the first to enter the orbit of a space object that is not the Earth;
• Six landings on the moon;
• "Apollo-17" is the last to date spacecraft that brought astronauts to the satellite of our planet.

Launch vehicle

As you know, spaceships of the Apollo type are delivered with the help of special vehicles. And that's where the "Saturn-5" mentioned above comes on the scene. This launch vehicle participated in the dispatch of all Apollo ships to the Moon, and was later used for the Skylab and Soyuz-Apollo projects. It consisted of three stages, consistently switched on and gave the ship the necessary acceleration. The third stage worked twice: after switching off the second and after some time after entering orbit. At the conclusion of their mission, the third stage of all vehicles before the Apollo-13 was launched into the near-solar orbit.

The asteroid J002E3, which disturbed the astronomers in the fall of 2002, turned out to be the third stage of one of these carrier rockets. According to experts, most likely, it was the "Saturn-5", which delivered the second expedition to the Moon (the crew of "Apollo-12").

Flight path

Another proof in favor of the similar origin of the "second companion" was the path that he had overcome before entering the Earth's orbit. The researchers suggest that the object was about heliocentric orbit for about thirty years. As a result of its proximity to the flight path of our planet, the asteroid J002E3 was captured by the Earth's gravity and began to rotate around it.

In 2002-2003, the asteroid passed by the Earth several times. Some scientists assumed that he would finish his journey by falling to the Moon, where the third stages of carrier rockets were already delivering Apollo ships from space to 13 to 17. However, this did not happen: the object was pushed out of orbit. Presumably, he will return to Earth in 2032.

Hazardous danger

When the media reports that the asteroid is flying to Earth, an ordinary person immediately raises the question of what the consequences will be if he flies, and bright pictures of the general disaster are drawn in his head. In the case of J002E3, the fears were in vain. The dimensions of the stage of the carrier rocket are relatively small: the mass is 20 tons, the length is about 18 meters and the diameter is 6.6 meters. People who are professionally engaged in astronomy know that if an asteroid with similar dimensions approaches an earth, there is nothing to be afraid of: it will burn in the upper Layers of the atmosphere. So it would be this time if the object J002E3 falls on our planet.

The problem of space debris

The situation with the stage of the carrier rocket "Saturn-5" is not unique. Such near-Earth objects periodically appear in the center of scientific discussions. As a rule, they come up in connection with the problem of the debris of low orbit around our planet. For a relatively short period of rapid development of space travel, people managed to leave quite a large number of "stunts" of various ships and missiles. The scientists came to the conclusion that the problem is already becoming critical, since such a volume of space debris near the Earth threatens both satellites and other launched devices, and the ecology of the planet.

Today, various strategies are being developed for clearing the space of low Earth orbit. One of the active propagandists of extraterrestrial "harvesting", the employee of the Johnson Space Center Yer-Chu Liu, encourages colleagues to deploy an international campaign to clean the near-Earth space. He proves quite convincingly that this uncommon problem can require as much strength and money as there is not one single country taken. The scientist assumes that the project to collect and destroy space debris can become a truly complex technical and organizational task, and its implementation is one of the most serious achievements of mankind.

Ideas

Among the discussed projects on cleaning the near-Earth space, there are a variety of options for solving the problem. These include structures that are similar to fish nets and resemble a soap bubble. As a way to deal with garbage, laser guns are also offered. Yer-Chu Liu notes that the choice of a particular way of implementing the program entirely depends on the priority tasks that have yet to be determined. The greatest danger, according to scientists, is the largest debris. Preliminary calculations show that to quickly and effectively cleanse the space near our planet, it is necessary to remove about five such objects annually.

Today, space debris continues to circulate in low Earth orbit, posing a potential threat to operating satellites and missiles being launched. Numerous projects to clean up the space surrounding our planet are under development. So, it is quite possible, more than once in the news will flash messages about objects like J002E3. However, the growing attention to the problem of the depletion of the orbit suggests that the necessary measures will soon be taken.