Environmental News Network - UArizona Researchers Probe How a Piece of the Moon Became a Near-Earth Asteroid

Details: By University of Arizona; 24.Oct

In 2021, a team of University of Arizona astronomers suggested that a recently discovered near-Earth asteroid, Kamo`oalewa, could be a chunk of the moon.

Julie Swatson

In 2021, a team of University of Arizona astronomers suggested that a recently discovered near-Earth asteroid, Kamo`oalewa, could be a chunk of the moon. Two years after the striking discovery, another UArizona research group has found that a rare pathway could have enabled this to happen.

So far, only distant asteroids from beyond the orbit of Mars have been considered a source of near-Earth asteroids, said Renu Malhotra, Regents Professor of planetary sciences and a senior author on the paper.

"We are now establishing that the moon is a more likely source of Kamo`oalewa," Malhotra said.

The implication is that many more lunar fragments remain to be discovered among the near-Earth asteroid population. The study was published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

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UArizona Researchers Probe How a Piece of the Moon Became a Near-Earth Asteroid