How many moons does the Earth have? Detailed answer

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How many moons does the Earth have? Detailed answer

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Did you know?

How many moons does the Earth have?

At least seven.

Of course, the familiar Moon (as astronomers call it) is the only celestial body that strictly adheres to the Earth's orbit. However, we now know of six more "near-Earth asteroids" (or "NEA asteroids") that follow the Earth around the Sun, despite the fact that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.

The first of the so-called "coorbitals" that could be identified was the asteroid Cruigna (from the name of the oldest of the Celtic tribes recorded in Britain) - a satellite about 5 km in size, discovered in 1997. Its orbit resembles an elongated horseshoe.

Five more have since been discovered, very cleverly named: 2000 PH5, 2000 WN10, 2002 AA29, 2003 YN]07, and 2004 GU9.

But are they really our moons? Many astronomers will answer no, although no one, of course, will call them ordinary asteroids. Like the Earth, they take about a year to completely circle the Sun (think of two racing cars going down a track at the same speed but on different tracks), and sometimes they actually get so close to us that they even have a barely noticeable gravitational influence.

In general, whatever you call them - whether they are "pseudo-moons", "quasi-satellites" or "fellow-traveling asteroids" - they all deserve to be kept an eye on them - if only because one day some of they may well settle on a more correct orbital trajectory.

Author: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What is the largest flying bird?

The largest bird on earth cannot fly at all. This is an African ostrich. It reaches 2,5 m in height and weighs over 135 kg. It would be hard work to lift such a bird into the air.

Two species have the largest wingspan of flying birds: the albatross and the condor. Adult birds weigh about 13 kg.

A wandering albatross leads the parade of the largest flying birds. Its wingspan is more than 3,5 m. In the condor, this value reaches 3,5 m. Next comes the royal vulture. It lives in South America, Mexico and Central America. Its wingspan reaches 3 m.

The white pelican, the next largest representative (wingspan - more than 2,5 m), lives in Canada and the southern states, and flies to another coast in winter. The great bustard - a huge anseriform feathered bird - is related to the crane. It lives in Europe, Asia and Africa, with a wingspan of more than 2,5 m.

Next come the bald and golden eagles. Then cranes (with a wingspan of up to 2 m), brown pelican and buzzard have about the same size.

The flight speed of different birds varies greatly. The highest measured speed belongs to two swifts from India. They flew at a rate of 3,2 km, covering this distance in 36 and 42 seconds, that is, 274 and 320 km / h!

After swifts, probably the fastest birds are the marsh harrier and its relatives. They, according to known data, fly 264-288 kilometers per hour! Domestic pigeon - about 96 kilometers per hour, and hummingbirds - from 80 to 88 kilometers per hour!

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In China, a team of scientists has grown mice that have human immune cells working inside. They took this step in order to more carefully analyze all the consequences of hepatitis B.

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