This photo from 1964 shows a centaur upper-stage rocket. Space Object 2020 SO is one of them.
NASA
Welcome back to Surveyor 2 Centaur Rocket Booster. We’re got a new chapter in a bittersweet space saga that includes intense launches, a devastating lunar mission, and decades of space travel.
In 1966, a rocket booster NASA used to launch the Surveyor 2 lunar lander returned to us for a temporary spin as a small moon in orbit around the Earth. When scientists discovered it in September, they named it 2020 SO. On Wednesday, NASA announced the bizarre The object was identified as a booster of the 60s.
When the booster worked brilliantly in 1966, the landing on the lunar surface did not survive a crash landing.
The special orbit of the booster around the sun Astronomers were told it would not be an asteroid, One of the many space rocks zipping around our cosmic neighborhood. Some pirates returned to Booster Earth in 1966.
Telescope observations have now revealed the stainless steel structure of the 2020 SO. This cosmic detective operation involves comparing the spectrum data of the enigmatic object with data collected on the well-known Centaur Rocker booster that has been orbiting in space since 1971. It was a match.
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The property attracted a lot of interest because of the surrounding Nigu and the Earth being captured into orbit, making it a mini-visit mini moon. The Virtual Telescope Project Livestream 2020 SO When approaching Earth on November 30th.
The Center Booster will be with us for a few months, but by March 2021 its space adventures are expected to continue in orbit around the Sun. At that time we all had “Goodnight, Center, Goodnight, Mini-Moon.”
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