A mini moon, also known as a temporarily captured object, is a space rock that is trapped in Earth’s orbit for several months or years .
A new one may have been found , the result of research by astronomers at the University of Arizona Steward Observatory. It would thus be, at least temporarily, a second moon for Earth, in addition to the one used for werewolves to transform.
Reduced size
Due to the minimal make-up of these celestial bodies, mini-moons are not easy to discover . In fact, it is likely that there are several mini moons orbiting Earth that we may not even have noticed. Still, so far, only one confirmed mini-moon had been detected: a 0.9-meter asteroid called 2006 RH120, which orbited Earth for 18 months in 2006 and 2007.
Kacper Wierzcho s, senior research specialist for the Catalina Sky Survey, funded by NASA and the University of Arizona, announced the discovery via Twitter:
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 Wierzchos (@WierzchosKacper) February 26, 2020
This second discovered mini-moon, christened the vibrant 2020 CD3 name, appears to measure between 1.9 to 3.5 meters in diameter and has a surface brightness typical of carbon-rich asteroids.
The potential mini moon has likely been trapped by Earth’s gravity for about three years and could emerge in April 2020, resuming its regular journey around the sun.