2006 RH 120
2006 RH 120 is an interplanetary object a few meters in size that was temporarily captured by the earth's gravitational potential between September 2006 and June 2007 and circled it four times. Currently 2006 RH 120 is in orbit around the sun. Its path repeatedly brings the object close to the earth, although it could also be temporarily caught in the future.
The object was discovered during the Catalina Sky Survey on September 14, 2006 and initially received the internal identification number 6R10DB9 . Orbit calculations showed that a few days earlier the object had passed its closest point to the moon, and was apparently in an orbit around the earth. Since it could be assumed based on these orbital properties and the spectrum of the object that it could be space debris and thus an artificial object, it was initially not given a systematic name. Through further astrometric observations, the heliocentric orbit could be determined more precisely. It turned out that the object had already passed the earth in - astronomically speaking - very close in the years 1958, 1969, 1979 and 1992. On June 14, 2007, on its last of four orbits around the earth, the object approached 0.7 lunar distances (277,000 km) and then left its orbit. The conclusions on the surface-to-mass ratio resulting from later studies of the radiation pressure of the sun on the body turned out to be typical for a natural object and spoke against the hypothesis that it was an artificial object. In February 2008, the property was finally given its official name by the IAU .
See also
Web link
- Report to Sky & Telescope (English)