On 16 May, a small object was discovered orbiting the Sun very near the Earth. Further analysis indicated that it could be a remnant of an old Soviet space mission.
Staff | 31 may 2010
The Catalina Sky Survey is a program of the University of Arizona in the U.S. dedicated to discovering asteroids and comets passing close to the Earth. One of its astronomers, Richard Kowalski, discovered the object named 2010 KQ on May 16. It is estimated that its orbit brings it so close to our planet that that there is a 6% probability of colliding with it between 2036 and 2096.
Further analysis with a NASA infrared telescope in Hawaii failed to identify in it the spectral characteristics of any known asteroid, although it appeared that its size is of a few meters.
The astronomers have been able to detect titanium dioxide on the surface of the object, a compound commonly used in the painting of rocket. This discovery, along with the size and type of its orbit, suggests to scientists that the object is probably a discarded stage of a Soviet Proton rocket. This type of rockets was used by the Soviet Union to send unmanned probes on the moon.
Scientists hope to confirm in the next few months the nature of the object. If it is indeed a piece of space junk and were to enter in a collision course with the Earth, it would completely disintegrate in the atmosphere. In fact, it was estimated that 2010 KQ was about to collide with Earth in 1975.
