{"id":106711,"date":"2020-02-13T09:55:08","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T14:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=106711"},"modified":"2024-02-09T11:55:32","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:55:32","slug":"arecibo-observatory-discovers-moon-orbiting-near-earth-asteroid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/arecibo-observatory-discovers-moon-orbiting-near-earth-asteroid\/","title":{"rendered":"Arecibo Observatory Discovers Moon Orbiting Near-Earth Asteroid"},"content":{"rendered":"
Scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico have discovered a moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid 2020 BX12<\/sub>.<\/p>\n Orbiting moons have been detected in fewer than 15 percent of all near-Earth asteroids.<\/p>\n Arecibo radar images released Feb. 10 indicate that the moon is about 230 feet wide, compared to the asteroid it orbits, which is about 540 feet wide. The asteroid was discovered earlier this month by the NASA-funded ATLAS near-Earth asteroid survey being conducted from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii.<\/p>\n The object is defined as a potentially hazardous asteroid because of its size and the proximity of its orbit to Earth’s orbit, although it poses no danger at this time and is currently moving away from Earth.<\/p>\n