00:00 [Music]
00:04 The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite,
00:06 but there are other solar orbiters out there that are more than just neighbors.
00:10 This is one of those objects, asteroid 2016 HO3,
00:14 also known as Como O'Oleva.
00:16 It's sometimes referred to as a co-orbiter
00:18 because its path around the Sun is so similar to our own,
00:21 yet off ever so slightly.
00:22 So where did it come from and why is it sharing our orbit?
00:25 Well, experts might finally have the answer.
00:27 Researchers looked directly at the Moon to find out,
00:30 as their initial hypothesis was that it was a piece of the lunar surface
00:33 that was chunked off during an impact.
00:35 That's because it reflects light in the same way as the Moon
00:37 and its color is essentially identical as well,
00:40 pointing to it being made of the same material.
00:42 Now, astronomers say they believe they have identified
00:44 the exact spot the asteroid came from,
00:47 here in the Giordano Bruno crater,
00:49 with the researchers writing, quote,
00:50 "We have explored the processes for impact-induced lunar fragments
00:54 migrating into Earth co-orbital space
00:56 and presented support for Como O'Oleva's possible origin
00:59 from the formation of the Giordano Bruno crater
01:02 a few million years ago."
01:03 There's just one thing,
01:04 the crater is a bit too big for all of it
01:06 to have ended up orbiting as this asteroid,
01:08 meaning more of it might be lurking out there
01:11 on a similar path with Earth as well.
01:14 (upbeat music)
01:16 (upbeat music)
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