(Ritambhara, Intern Journalist) Scientists close to Earth have found a new asteroid. It is likely to come closer to Earth next month and may look like a small moon. Unlike a rocky asteroid found in space, it is like a rocket. It is likely that this is part of a rocket that NASA sent 54 years ago, whose landing on the moon failed.
When it was being brought back to Earth, some part of it must have been left in space. Paul Chodus, the scientist who discovered this asteroid, said, ‘I am surprised to see it. It is my hobby to find such things in space. I have been doing this work for decades. Chodus named this asteroid as 2020 SO. He said that it was in fact the upper part of NASA’s Centaur rocket, which was launched in 1966.
This expedition collided with the lunar surface in a similar way as the Lander campaign sent to India’s moon this year failed.
Towards Earth coming at a speed of 2400 kmph: This asteroid is about 26 feet long. It is part of a 32 feet long centaur whose width was ten feet. It is coming towards the earth at a speed of 2,400 kilometers per hour, which is much less than the speed of a normal asteroid. Chodas is a director at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.
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