The Giordano Bruno crater on the moon, where asteroid Kamo‘oalewa could have originated Universal Images Group/Getty Images
We may have located the exact birthplace of a strange asteroid that seems to have originated on the moon.
In 2021, astronomers noticed that asteroid 469219 Kamo‘oalewa, which orbits the sun on the same trajectory as Earth, looked unusual. The light bouncing off it appeared strangely red, marking it apart from the thousands of other near-Earth asteroids we know about.
One of the only plausible chemical compositions…
![Small dome in the Compton-Belkovich region (61.33 ?N, 99.68 ?E). Evidence indicates a volcanic origin for this and other intriguing features in the region. Incidence angle is 64?, Sun is from the SSW, image is ~510 m across. NAC image number M139238146L [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].](https://images.newscientistbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/07172644/SEI_163208069.jpg)
