A mini-moon by our side

Maria A. Montalvo

The earth is about to have a mini-moon by its side.

This mini-moon won’t stay with us for too long (a couple of months, or 56.6 days, according to NASA).

Ok, it is actually an asteroid that will take on moon status to Earth for a short period, but that does not mean it is not a moon. Officially, a moon is “an object that orbits a planet or another celestial body that is not a star,” according to National Geographic, so we do have to call it a moon, even if it is not our usual, familiar moon.

This moon used to orbit the sun, and after its hiatus from there when it is captured by earth’s gravity, it will go back to the sun.

The short-timer moons often return several times per decade, and only stay for a few days or weeks, while those that stay longer are pretty rare. Earth has had mini-moons remain in our orbit for years. A number of conditions have to be met for it to capture a mini-moon, like its speed and direction, size, and alignment with Earth’s gravity.

Some scientists think we have a “dishwasher-size mini-moon” in our orbit at any given time, but they come and go, so we do not necessarily detect them.  

Every night, we look to the sky for a glimpse of the Earth’s companion, and somehow it offers a sense of reassurance. It is usually easy to find and interacts with our planet in so many noticeable ways – guiding our calendars, changing shape in each phase, obscuring light from the sun, and, of course, affecting the tides.

The realization that in addition to this steady moon we also interact with intermittent visitors from other planets or suns or elsewhere in the solar system is somehow also reassuring.

Just like the Earth and the moon, most of us have constants in our lives – people who guide us, change us, and help us function, even on days when that seems difficult. We also have people who come into our lives for shorter periods of time and yet still have a profound effect on us, even though they cannot stay with us for long.

They may not be a part of our immediate “orbit,” as my dad used to call people who we kept close, but still impact the trajectory of our lives.

A mini-moon to pretty much every resident of south Snohomish County is a woman who most of us never met. Her name was Hazel Miller, and she left her entire estate to establish the Hazel Miller Foundation to serve our community. Visit a park or go to a local event or benefit from the services of local community organizations, and the Hazel Miller Foundation has likely granted it financial support.

Another mini-moon came to Edmonds and south Snohomish County as a result of Hazel’s flightpath. As the foundation developed, one man, Dan Asher, became a guiding beacon for a board of volunteers struggling to create an organization that was worthy of Hazel’s generous legacy.

Dan was an understated, kind adviser with a heartfelt commitment to helping others and keen intellect of how to accomplish Hazel’s vision. Over 14 years, Dan challenged the board to see the beauty that Hazel saw in Edmonds and to help members of our community not only survive but thrive.

Dan Asher’s mini-moon left our orbit last week, following a bout with acute leukemia. While his time with us was temporary, his impact on our little corner of this earth is massive. South Snohomish County, and the Hazel Miller Foundation, are better for the time he gave to us.

The mini-moon visiting us for the next two months is expected to come back to hang out in Earth’s orbit again, once in 2055 and again in 2084.

As people, we do not always have that much time, but the people who have been helped through Dan’s guidance and wisdom will undoubtedly become mini-moons to others, and the waves of that will be felt in our solar system for a very, very long time.