Earth’s Second Mini-Moon

What! Earth has a second moon? Is that really true?

Oh yes! it is true. Our Earth now has a second mini-moon. In fact, this had been orbiting the Earth for almost three years now. But astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey center at NASA discovered it only on February 15^th.

Then why can’t we see it like our Moon?

This so-called second mini-moon of Earth’s is named as 2020 CD3 and is between 1.9 to 3.5 meters in diameter and is none other than an asteroid that is captured by Earth’s gravitational pull. Moreover, this asteroid is temporarily stuck in a strange orbit around the planet due to the triple gravitational pulls of the Earth, the Sun and the Moon. After a certain period of time, its gravitational pull can then take it out and return to the Sun’s orbit. Due to its size and orbital complications, it cannot have effects like our very own satellite, the Moon. And hence, we cannot see it with our naked eyes.

Since this mini-moon is just a temporary one, it is estimated by the Astronomers to leave Earth’s orbit by the month of April 2020 after three years being in complicated orbital paths.

When the Astronomers in the Catalina Sky Survey discovered 2020 CD3, they weren’t completely shocked. This activity has been encountered already in the year 2006. 0.9-meter asteroid called 2006 RH120, which orbited Earth for 18 months in 2006 and 2007. And now they suspect more are out there.