TUCSON, ARIZONA — The Earth's busy orbit is occupied by space junk, nearly 5,000 artificial satellites, the Moon and now a possible temporary resident 'minimoon' called 2020 CD3. Live Science reports that the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory first spotted the captive space rock.
Citing a NASA astronomer working with the university, the outlet reports that the space rock is 1.9 meters to 3.5 meters in diameter. Light reflection from the possible minimoon is consistent with carbon-rich asteroids. Other observatories have yet to confirm the sighting.
It is not uncommon for Earth to capture temporary natural satellites, but most are too small to be detected. This minimoon has been orbiting our planet for close to three years and it is expected to leave in April to continue its journey around the Sun.
Citing a study published in Arxiv.org, the outlet reports there is a possibility that the minimoon would be recaptured by the moon's gravity well and become a natural lunar satellite, which is a theoretical class of objects astronomers think might exist.
