You’re familiar with the Moon right? That really charming glow in the sky that controls our tides? Turns out Earth has a new one, and it’s not the first time this has happened either.
The so-called mini-moon, known specifically as 2020 CD3, may have a diameter as small as 6 feet, according to Wierzchos, but it’s a very big deal. Why? This is only the second time the Earth has temporarily captured a passing object — a two-in-a-million occurrence.
The first instance, a similarly sized rock called 2006 RH120, was discovered by the same team 14 years ago. Earth’s first mini-moon was observed from September 2006 to June 2007 before breaking out of our planet’s orbit to begin a new journey around the Sun.
According to The International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center, the current mini-moon entered our orbit three years before being observed.