00:03The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite, but there are other solar orbiters out there
00:08that are more than just neighbors. This is one of those objects, asteroid 2016 H03,
00:14also known as Kamo Oaleva. It's sometimes referred to as a co-orbiter because its path
00:19around the sun is so similar to our own, yet off ever so slightly. So where did it come from
00:23and
00:24why is it sharing our orbit? Well, experts might finally have the answer. Researchers look directly
00:28the Moon to find out, as our initial hypothesis was that it was a piece of the lunar surface
00:33that was chunked off during an impact. That's because it reflects light in the same way as
00:37the Moon and its color is essentially identical as well, pointing to it being made of the same
00:41material. Now, astronomers say they believe they have identified the exact spot the asteroid came
00:46from here in the Giordano-Bruno crater, with the researchers writing, quote,
00:51We have explored the processes for impact-induced lunar fragments migrating into Earth's co-orbital
00:56space and presented support for Kamo Oaleva's possible origin from the formation of the Giordano-Bruno
01:01crater a few million years ago. There's just one thing. The crater is a bit too big for all of
01:06it
01:06to have ended up orbiting as this asteroid, meaning more of it might be lurking out there on a similar
01:11path with Earth as well.
