A New Moon for Earth?

[ott]

March 26, 2004 — Earth has acquired a "quasi-moon" — an asteroid that will encircle our planet for the next couple of years while it orbits the sun on a horseshoe-shaped path, according to a report to be published on Saturday in New Scientist.

The asteroid, 2003 YN17, "is probably a chunk of debris" from an impact between a larger space rock and the surface of the moon, the British weekly said.

2003 YN17's orbital plane is roughly the same as the earth's, but its unusual path, compounded by a corkscrew-like track, means that sometimes it is ahead of us and sometimes it is behind.

full article: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20040322/newmoon.html

[stepnw1f]

1. Ok...

And how large is it?

[tlcandie]

2. Picture of the quasi moon...

It did not state its size in the article, but said its movement was somewhat of a corkscrew.

[jay-3d]

3. poll

http://poll.excite.com/poll/home.jsp?cat_id=1

[librechik]

6. looks like they finally found Jimmy Hoffa

that's one hell of a cement overcoat

[calimary]

13. ROFLMAO!!!!!!

Just one more reason why I love DU...

[Sequoia]

19. How do you know!!!?

You are really funny. Who would've thunk it!

[Darkseid69]

7. That's Ida and Dactyl: An Asteroid with a Moon

Galileo photographed it a few years ago.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020630.html

[TrogL]

15. I thought that was the wrong picture

except I thought it was Eros

[ChompySnack]

18. That is the asteroid Eros and it's moon Dactyl

Not a piece of space debris.

[mobuto]

4. George Bush announces plans to land men on quasi-moon

Canton, Ohio - The quasi-President of the United States announced ambitious plans Friday to send a manned mission to the Earth's new quasi-moon by the year 2010.

In a speech before autoworkers in Canton, Mr. Bush made clear that the mission to this new moon would be a centerpiece of his reelection strategy.

Democrats replied that the asteroid 2003 YN17 is symbolic of Mr. Bush's presidency, which a spokesman for Democratic candidate John Kerry referred to as "a chunk of debris with a corkscrew-like track."

[stepnw1f]

5. Coffee All Over The Keyboard

[bread_and_roses]

9. ROFL n/t

[Twenty3]

10. Coffee splatters monitors and keyboards all over the world

including mine

Bravo! :thumbsup:

[catzies]

11. And in other news

Preliminary studies show the asteroid has a puddle of light, sweet crude in its center, and Halliburton was awarded the no-bid, cost-plus contract to drill, thus extending the timeline for Peak Oil by 1.4 days.

[Dead_Parrot]

12. Thank you...

I now have cola up my nose :D

[frank frankly]

20. LOL

nicely done, mobuto...

very very very funny!

[RedCloud]

8. Is that moon giving us the finger?

If so, we had better jump through the Star Gate very soon!

[GregW]

14. We like the moon, coz it is close to us ...

http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/

[Ysabel]

16. copied from that nasa link above...

..."The tiny moon, named Dactyl, is about one mile across, while the potato shaped Ida measures about 36 miles long and 14 miles wide."...

[louis-t]

17. don't you mean "potatoe"?