HIGHLIGHTS 

2019 PR2 and 2019 QR6 are the names of the asteroids.

The asteroids are around 600,000 miles apart.

In the year 2019, the asteroids were found as independent entities.

WHY IN NEWS 

Scientists have discovered twin asteroids that might be Earth's closest companions in an unusual find. The asteroids appear to have detached from a parent asteroid only a few centuries ago, despite their distance of around 600,000 miles. In August of this year, the asteroids were found as independent entities. However, within a month, researchers saw a striking resemblance in their orbital patterns, prompting them to investigate more. When scientists sought to learn more about the asteroids 2019 PR2 and 2019 QR6, they were stumped. Scientists discovered an intriguing option when looking at old Catalina Sky Survey data from 2005. 

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Additional observations enabled scientists to delve deeper into the history of asteroids' movements over time. Orbital calculations revealed that the two asteroids were once one entity in the not-too-distant past. According to two scenarios, the original asteroid must have split apart between 230 and 420 years ago, or between 265 and 280 years ago, to generate these two fragments. The study report was published in the Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices journal on February 2nd. 'It's really amazing to find such a young asteroid duo that was produced just approximately 300 years ago, which was like this morning — not even yesterday — in astronomical timescales,' said Petr Fatka, lead author of the new research. The Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, provided some of the observations needed for the study.

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 The twins have been classified as D-type asteroids, according to reports. This indicates they're thought to be high in chemicals that dissolve swiftly in space when heated too much. In reality, D-type asteroids are extremely rare near the Sun. These twin asteroids circle the Sun as close as Earth's orbit and as distant as Saturn's orbit. Scientists are baffled by some of these asteroids' characteristics. They're wondering if the asteroids, like comets, are emitting some stuff. However, the twin entities have yet to show any cometary activity. So it's still a mystery how the two may have originated 300 years ago from a parent asteroid.