New Delhi, India

In a stunning discovery, scientists have spotted an asteroid which is tagging along with Earth in its annual revolution around the Sun. 

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The asteroid, which has been dubbed as 2023 FW13, has been termed a “quasi-moon” or “quasi-satellite" by the experts.

The asteroid has been classified as a "quasi-moon" because it has been orbiting the sun in a similar time frame as the Earth. However, the asteroid was also impacted by Earth's gravitational pull.

Asteroid 2023 FW13 measures nearly 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter and is located at a distance of nearly nine million miles (14 million kilometres) from the Earth.

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The scientists used the Pan-STARRS survey telescope for spotting the 2023 FW13 on March 28, 2023. 

Also Read: Earth’s near miss! Mountain-size asteroid to fly-by at close range; here’s how to watch it live

The telescope was kept on the top of Haleakala, which is a dormant volcano on the Hawaiian Island of Maui. 

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The Canada-France-Hawaii telescope as well as two observatories in Arizona (which are the Kitt Peak National Observatory and Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter) confirmed the asteroid's presence in the Earth’s vicinity.

The asteroid was officially listed by the Minor Planet Center at the International Astronomical Union on April 1. The organisation is responsible for designating new moons, planets as well as other astronomical objects in our solar system.

How asteroid 2023 FW13 was classified as a 'quasi-moon'?

The listing of the asteroid came to the attention of journalist and astronomer Adrien Coffinet. He used an orbit simulator to map the path of the asteroid. The orbit simulator was developed by amateur astronomer Tony Dunn. 

In the model, 2023 FW13 was seen revolving around the sun at the same time as the Earth does. Since the asteroid circles around our planet hence, Coffinet classified it as a “quasi-moon".

Senior research scientist at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado Alan Harris emphasised that since the Earth plays an important role in the motion of the asteroid, its classification as a “quasi-satellite” is a little far-fetched.

According to the scientists, 2023 FW13 appears to be the cosmic companion of our planet since at least 100 BCE. 

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The asteroid is most likely to follow our planet in its orbit around the sun till around 3,700 CE. “It seems to be the longest quasi-satellite of Earth known to date,” said Coffinet.

The asteroid, even though hovers relatively close to our planet, is unlikely to collide with the Earth.

“The good news is, such an orbit doesn’t result in an impacting trajectory ‘out of the blue,’” said Harris.

(With inputs from agencies)