Near-Earth asteroid 1998 KY26 may actually be Soviet spacecraft Phobos 1
Fox News • • science
Key Points:
- The object 1998 KY26, a roughly 36-foot-wide near-Earth asteroid, is accelerating in a way that cannot be explained by gravity alone, prompting theories about its origin and nature.
- A new study from Georgia Tech researchers challenges the idea that KY26 is a "dark comet" propelled by sublimating water ice, finding it too warm to retain buried ice for such acceleration.
- Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb and colleagues propose that KY26 might be Phobos 1, a lost Soviet spacecraft from 1988, based on similarities in sunlight reflection and rotation patterns, though this theory remains unproven.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized there is no evidence KY26 poses any threat and maintains it is most likely an asteroid, with ongoing monitoring by NASA.
- Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission plans to rendezvous with KY26 in 2031, which could provide definitive evidence to confirm or refute the spacecraft hypothesis.
