A hypothetical origin as lunar ejecta for Earth's quasi-satellites (QS) has gained initial support in recent years, but there is scarce photometric and/or spectroscopic data to support the premise due to the rare observational windows to obtain such data for these small objects. One of the key pieces of evidence supporting the lunar-origin hypothesis, the lunar-like, very red reflectance spectrum of QS (469219) Kamo'oalewa, was recently found to be flawed. We present reflectance spectroscopy of Earth's QS 2025~PN$_7$ obtained with FORS2 at UT1-Antu of the ESO Very Large Telescope. This is only the second QS that has ever been characterized, the first being (469219) Kamo'oalewa, the sample-return target of the Tianwen-2 mission. Our results indicate that 2025~PN$_7$ exhibits a near-solar, flat visual spectrum, most consistent with the B-type in the Bus-DeMeo taxonomy. Our results therefore still support an asteroid-belt origin for most of Earth's QSs. The lunar-ejecta hypothesis can only be formally rejected with a larger sample of spectroscopically characterized QSs.
Recent JWST observations reveal that the Earth’s quasi-satellite (469219) Kamoʻoalewa possesses a high geometric albedo and a flat near-infrared spectrum, in contrast with earlier ground-based observations, posing new challenges to its compositional identification. This study evaluates the potential surface composition...
Pei Ma, Zhi-Yong Xiao, Jian-Yang Li et al.· Astronomical Journal· 0 citations
The asteroid 2024 YR_4 is a potentially hazardous Apollo-type near-Earth object. Its highly eccentric orbit produces close Earth-Moon encounters roughly every 4 years. Based on the astrometry collected during the discovery apparition, the asteroid had a 4% probability of a lunar impact on 2032 December 22. A collection...
T. Müller, E. MacLennan, A. Burdanov et al.· Astronomy & Astrophysics· 0 citations
The small Solar System bodies (SSSBs) preserve records of the formation and evolution of the Solar System. In particular, the near-infrared wavelength region around 3 μm provides crucial insights into the origin and transport of hydrated materials and organics, although it is difficult to observe from the ground beca...
J. Beniyama, Eri Tatsumi, S. Hasegawa et al.· RAS Techniques and Instrumen...· 0 citations
The thermal emission spectra of terrestrial exoplanets provide a window into their surface compositions and corresponding geological processes. Close-in rocky planets orbiting M dwarfs are ideal targets for these studies, as observations have shown that most have little to no atmosphere. LHS 3844 b is an ultrashort-per...
Kimberly Paragas, H. Knutson, Ren-Yu Hu et al.· Astrophysical Journal Letter...· 0 citations
Understanding the effects of space weather on crewed and robotic probes is a key aspect of mission design. Much progress has been made in the field of space weather and heliophysics in the past decades, particularly by Parker Solar Probe, GOES-R (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites - R), and SOHO (Solar...
F. Criscola, David Canales Garcia, A. Farrés· Journal of Spacecraft and Ro...· 0 citations
We present photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric observations of (163693) Atira collected on the night of 05 March 2024. A dual-band lightcurve acquired in the V and R_C filters using the Mets\"ahovi Observatory (L08) in Kirkkonummi, Finland spans nearly 8~hours. From these measurements we estimate a V-R_C = 0.4...
E. MacLennan, G. Fedorets, Z. Gray et al.· 0 citations
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