Copyright (C) 2016 by Aldo Vitagliano
Copyright information: Text, images and animations can be freely reproduced and published elsewere, provided credit is given to the author.
Still in a rotating frame.
Dynamics of an Earth pseudo-satellite in a rotating frame: 2016 HO3
2016 HO3 is a small NEO locked in a 1:1 resonance with Earth.
It became a quasi-satellite about a century ago, and will follow our planet around the Sun for the next three centuries, looping around us once a year. Its yearly loop will then unhook from Earth, starting to follow a horseshoe path with respect to our planet, which will last for several millennia.
In this animated picture the frame is rotated synchronously with the revolution of Earth, which therefore moves along the short green segment located 1 AU above the Sun, while the other inner planets are hidden. The yellow loop represents one yearly path of the asteroid, and each frame is taken at 1 year intervals for a total span of 999 years.