February 28, 2020, 11:55 AM
Earth has captured a "mini-moon" and pulled it into orbit.
Size of a car
This "mini-moon" is an asteroid (2020 CD3) that was pulled into Earth's orbit, and it is only the second asteroid known to orbit Earth, according to CNN.
While its orbit around Earth is only temporary, the asteroid will stick around until April before it drops out of Earth's orbit and returns to a heliocentric orbit around the sun.
The discovery was made by Kacper Wierzchos and Theodore Pruyne, researcher specialists for a NASA-funded project in Arizona, United States.
The team discovers and tracks near-Earth objects that could be potentially hazardous for Earth.
In this case, the asteroid was discovered, and is likely to have been pulled into Earth's orbit two to three years ago.
https://twitter.com/WierzchosKacper/status/1232460436634656769
According to Wierzchos, the object is around 1.9m to 3.5m in diameter, making it roughly the size of a car.
To which Tesla founder Elon Musk clarified that the asteroid was not his.
It’s not mine
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2020
Has its own Twitter account?
While the discovery was made barely two days ago, the "mini-moon" has gain wide social media traction, and a Twitter account for the newly-discovered asteroid was created.
For the hundredth time I'm not @elonmusk's stupid car. 😒 https://t.co/SXPOU3sH1Q
— Mini Moon (@2020Cd3) February 28, 2020
I prefer MiniMoon, Moon Junior, or just Moonior.
— Mini Moon (@2020Cd3) February 27, 2020
Catch it before it's gone.
Top image via euronews/YouTube
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