The silent guide of the earth

Earth is not alone on the journey around the sun, because it is "led" by a meteorite that has the same orbit.

Nature reported, 2010 TK7 - the name of a meteorite - about 300 m in diameter should be classified as small meteorites. The distance between it and the earth is about 80 million km. Since 2010 TK7 and the globe flew with orbit, they never collided.

Simulation of earth and a meteorite near it. Photo: onorbit.com.

Astronomers call the stable meteorites in front of or behind the planet 'Trojan'. Jupiter, Mars and Neptune also have Trojan meteorites that follow them.

Scientists from the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) discovered meteorites thanks to WISE, the space telescope launched into space since 2009. It is capable of receiving infrared radiation and has a field of view. extremely wide.

Previously, scientists had predicted that the earth had some Trojan meteorites but they had difficulty proving because they could not observe them in sunlight.

Martin Connors, an Athabasca University professor in Canada, said the 2010 TK7's orbit would be stable for at least another 1,000 years.

Professor Connors and his colleagues at NASA discovered 2010 TK7 after observing the sky with the WISE space telescope from January 2010 to February 2011.