Hitchhiking in Earth’s orbit, asteroid may be with us for 4,000 years
An asteroid, named 2020 XL5, which was discovered to be travelling alongside Earth, is approximately three-quarters of a mile (1.2 km) wide and is expected to remain in our planet's orbit for at least 4,000 years without posing any danger. Researchers, using telescopes in Chile, Arizona and the Canary Islands, have provided the most comprehensive description of the asteroid yet. It is one of only two Trojan asteroids that are travelling with Earth, either as a wanderer in the solar system or as leftover material from its home planet's formation. It has become trapped in the gravitational pull of our planet and is now orbiting the sun along the same path.0
