Earth’s Other Moon

Nice Video showing Cruithne is always within a certain distance of Earth. I am only now finding out about this.

originally posted by: Dr UAE

That is a great description - thanks for taking the time to put it into detail for me. I understand better now - but I don't envy astrophysicists or anyone who had to determine it's orbit. Seems like something that would take YEARS to map out. So many different factors at play. Quite impressive they can make simulations that are as accurate as they are.

It is no different to determining the orbit of any other body, so long as your figures are accurate enough. That's the beauty of gravity. You just enter the relevant orbital parameters of the object into your simulator, and then set it in motion. I can do this on my home PC (for any Solar System object), and note the changes in position and trajectory over time. I can also accurately determine close approach distances.

originally posted by: Asynchrony
Nice Video showing Cruithne is always within a certain distance of Earth. I am only now finding out about this.

originally posted by: Dr UAE

The same is true of any other body in the Solar System, they are always within a certain distance of Earth. One could make an animation of Cruithne's orbit relative to Venus or Mercury, and it would look very similar.

Not a moon. It orbits erratically through the soar system from the sun to mars. A moon is a satellite for a specific planet.

originally posted by: roth1
Not a moon. It orbits erratically through the soar system from the sun to mars. A moon is a satellite for a specific planet.

It doesn't even orbit erratically, it's got a perfectly normal elliptical orbit around the Sun. Take a look at the JPL orbit diagram if you don't believe me (a screenshot was posted here a few posts earlier).

The only thing distinguishing it from other asteroids is that the Earth exerts some gravitational influence on it, causing it to be in 1:1 orbital resonance with our planet.

Being that so many other things exist in between the sun and mars ( it's pattern ). I don't think the earth has the only gravitational influence. I don't think there is such a thing as a shared moon. Just a flying rock. a reply to: wildespace

a reply to: schuyler, a reply to: FamCore

My pleasure to help.

The Universe is such a complex wonder indeed.

Someone needs to compare these apparent orbital patterns to ancient symbols and pictography.

Then we might find something that they saw in the sky that either can't be seen today, or isn't in the sky anymore at all. It could be really cool pseudo science to begin using ancient symbols to study the ancient sky scape, versus using current space models to study history.

originally posted by: Xterrain
Someone needs to compare these apparent orbital patterns to ancient symbols and pictography.

Then we might find something that they saw in the sky that either can't be seen today, or isn't in the sky anymore at all. It could be really cool pseudo science to begin using ancient symbols to study the ancient sky scape, versus using current space models to study history.

Cruithne is too dim for anyone to have seen with their naked eye now or it in the past.

The human eye can see at best down to a magnitude 7 (the lower the number the brighter the object)

3753 Cruithne is a magnitude 15.6

originally posted by: Xterrain
Someone needs to compare these apparent orbital patterns to ancient symbols and pictography.

Then we might find something that they saw in the sky that either can't be seen today, or isn't in the sky anymore at all. It could be really cool pseudo science to begin using ancient symbols to study the ancient sky scape, versus using current space models to study history.

You have the Electric Universe "theory" already doing that, but 1) you can't see the actual orbits in the sky, and 2) it wouldn't really be science or astronomy, but speculative mythology.

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: Asynchrony
Nice Video showing Cruithne is always within a certain distance of Earth. I am only now finding out about this.

originally posted by: Dr UAE

The same is true of any other body in the Solar System, they are always within a certain distance of Earth. One could make an animation of Cruithne's orbit relative to Venus or Mercury, and it would look very similar.

That's good to know. Although I doubt any of the others are as close as Earth and Cruithne.

originally posted by: JadeStar
Cruithne is too dim for anyone to have seen with their naked eye now or it in the past.

Could Cruithne be the fabled planet X that those kooks were all excited about? Perhaps they let their imaginations get the best of them and they actually "remote viewed" Cruithne or some other related way of psychically "seeing" Cruithne then tagged on that fairy tale.

originally posted by: Asynchrony

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: Asynchrony
Nice Video showing Cruithne is always within a certain distance of Earth. I am only now finding out about this.

originally posted by: Dr UAE

The same is true of any other body in the Solar System, they are always within a certain distance of Earth. One could make an animation of Cruithne's orbit relative to Venus or Mercury, and it would look very similar.

That's good to know. Although I doubt any of the others are as close as Earth and Cruithne.

Cruithne isn't that close to Earth at all. At various times, the Earth is closer to Venus or Mercury than it is to Cruithne.

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: Asynchrony

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: Asynchrony
Nice Video showing Cruithne is always within a certain distance of Earth. I am only now finding out about this.

originally posted by: Dr UAE

The same is true of any other body in the Solar System, they are always within a certain distance of Earth. One could make an animation of Cruithne's orbit relative to Venus or Mercury, and it would look very similar.

That's good to know. Although I doubt any of the others are as close as Earth and Cruithne.

Cruithne isn't that close to Earth at all. At various times, the Earth is closer to Venus or Mercury than it is to Cruithne.

Or Mars, on occasion, such as seen in this diagram of their positions about a year from now (May, 2016):



JPL Small-Body Database

a reply to: purplemer

Great educational thread

If it hit earth it would cause an extinction level event.

A few years ago, I ran this object, and several others, through an asteroid impact website that calculated the various types of damage they could cause. It was some university site and it seems to have vanished from the web. None of the ones I entered really threatened 'extinction level' but who'd volunteer to be within a mile of an impact? Uh uh! : )

There's a newer, more attractive version here at 'Impact: Earth!' 3753 Cruithne still looks 'safe' no matter what parameters are entered. Saying that, having it strike ocean at 90 degrees and at maximum velocity would create a tsunami with an estimated wave height of '125m.' That sounds massive until I checked out the heighest recorded wave in history! 914 metres!!

a reply to: Kandinsky

That sounds massive until I checked out the heighest recorded wave in history! 914 metres!!

I live on the edge of a cliff I thought I was safe at 45 metres... Evidently I am not.

Happy days

purp..

originally posted by: Xterrain
Someone needs to compare these apparent orbital patterns to ancient symbols and pictography.

Then we might find something that they saw in the sky that either can't be seen today, or isn't in the sky anymore at all. It could be really cool pseudo science to begin using ancient symbols to study the ancient sky scape, versus using current space models to study history.

Actually what you are saying here makes perfect sense.
terpconnect.umd.edu...
www.archaeoastronomy.com...

Here in Australia there are many examples of ancient Aboriginal paintings and rock engravings detailing not only what they saw, but also how they connected themselves to it and the universe through dreamtime stories and artworks that have survived. The wonderful thing about Australian Aboriginals is they were still living as our ancient ancestors did, stone tools, burials and cave art styles are very similar.

PDF's below,
arxiv.org...
www.uws.edu.au...