Per CNN, then -- the story:
. . .When NASA scientists recently tracked the orbits of two space rocks as they made close approaches of Earth, they discovered a surprise: One of the asteroids has a little moon.
Astronomers regularly track the trajectories of asteroids to ensure that none of them are on a potential collision course with our planet.
While neither of the recent asteroids whizzed by at a concerning distance, the space rocks can yield valuable information that NASA uses to prepare for any potential future collision scenarios. . . .
Astronomers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. . . used [Goldstone, a] planetary radar -- through the Deep Space Network to track and take images of the asteroids.
The Deep Space Network is a system of radio antennae on Earth that helps the agency communicate with spacecraft exploring our solar system and releases radio waves to act as radar across space. . . .
In fact, Goldstone and the rest of the Deep Space Network of radar dishes are the way we stay in communication with now nearly 50 year old Voyager 1 and 2 missions, as well. There you have it -- even the tiniest space bodies, seem occasionally to possess fellow travellers. Shepherded moons, indeed. Grinning. . . .
नमस्ते
