That’s no moon ... but a new tiny object is now orbiting Earth.
It’s actually an asteroid and is being called a mini-moon, CNN reported.
It was just recently discovered but has been flying around the planet for about three years, but it’s only temporary, experts say and CNN reported, despite, scientists not saying how long it will continue on its path.
Two specialists from the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA project at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tuscon.
BIG NEWS (thread 1/3). Earth has a new temporarily captured object/Possible mini-moon called 2020 CD3. On the night of Feb. 15, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate Teddy Pruyne and I found a 20th magnitude object. Here are the discovery images. pic.twitter.com/zLkXyGAkZl
— Kacper Wierzchoś (@WierzchosKacper) February 26, 2020
(2/3) The object has just been announced by the MPC and its orbit shows that it entered Earth's orbit some three years ago. Here is a diagram of the orbit created with the orbit simulator written by Tony Dunn: pic.twitter.com/2wsJGtexiO
— Kacper Wierzchoś (@WierzchosKacper) February 26, 2020
The asteroid is between 6.2 feet and 11.4 feet in diameter, CNN reported.
It is rare that an asteroid orbits the Earth. The asteroid, 2020 CD3, is only the second to orbit the planet out of the 1 million or so rocks floating in space, NBC News reported.
Some believe the asteroid isn’t a natural phenomenon, but rather manmade since it is following a similar orbit as spent Apollo-era rocket boosters, CNN reported.
The International Astronomical Union says that it is only “temporarily bound to Earth” it also said there is “No evidence of perturbations due to solar radiation pressure is seen, and no link to a known artificial object has been found. Further observations and dynamical studies are strongly encouraged,” NBC News reported.
Cox Media Group
