2020XL5

Animation of 2020XL5 (Phoenix 7777)

There are real estate agents who sell island paradises. Apparently JZ bought one of the Florida Keys for Beyonce’s 29^thbirthday. Peter Nygard, the billionaire party animal got into a bitter dispute with his laidback neighbor Louis Bacon, who made his money in hedge funds on the exclusive Bahamanian island they both inhabit ( "How a Neighbors' Feud in Paradise Launched an International Rape Case," NYT, 2/22/20).

The Caymans is famous for being a tax haven popular with money launderers, but what does it take to turn your private island into a sovereign state which can issue passports? Which brings us to the subject of asteroids. Are they the islands of tomorrow? Certainly, there are celestial objects that are more than space debris and less than full-blown moons or planets. 2020 XL5 is the name of an asteroid which might one day become the weekend home for wealthy space travelers ("Astronomers Find a New Trojan Asteroid Sharing Earth’s Orbit,"NYT, 2/2/22). The recent find has followed the same trajectory as earth for about 200 years and will only be a hiking companion for another 4000. So settling on 2020XL5 is tantamount to a long term lease. Still the asteroid threatens to become the St Bart’s of the skies. Can you imagine the ancestors of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson sunbathing on the likes of 2020EL5?

watch the animation of Erotomania on You Tube

and listen to "25 Miles From Home" by Edwin Starr