An asteroid near Earth, is it actually a piece of the moon?

The near-Earth asteroid, Kamoʻoalewa, with an orbiting approach to Earth, may be a fragment from the moon a long time ago, researchers at the University of Arizona have found.

Camoo aleva was discovered in 2016 and is a celestial body with an orbital period almost the same as that of the Earth. When observed from the Earth, it draws a vibrating trajectory, so it was named Kamooaleva, which means vibrating celestial body in Hawaiian. Observations of Camooaleva have continued since 2016, and in 2017 it was confirmed from the light patterns reflected by Camooaleva that it was an asteroid and not an artifact.

In this study, the light pattern reflected by Chamo aleva was also observed using LBT. Observations revealed that the light pattern reflected by Camooaleva did not match the known near-Earth asteroid pattern, but rather matched the moonstone pattern brought by the Apollo program. Based on these results, the research team is saying that it is suggested that Chamo aleva may have originated from the moon.

The researchers say they have come to the conclusion that these findings are true after a survey in the spring of 2021. According to the research team, Chamo aleva can only be observed for a few weeks in April each year. The research team plans to observe Camoo aleva in April 2022 and disclose details. In addition, the study of Camoo aleva is attracting attention in the future, as China is announcing plans to send unmanned probes to collect samples. Related information can be found here.