(CNN) – It is not the Moon, but you can call it a moon. The Earth has captured a small object and placed it in orbit.
The asteroid, known as 2020 CD3, is only the second asteroid known to orbit the Earth. And although it will not last, this asteroid acts as a temporary mini-moon revolving around our planet.
The discovery was made by Kacper Wierzchos and Theodore Pruyne, specialist researchers at Catalina Sky Survey. It is a NASA-funded project at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona in Tuscon, Arizona.
Catalina Sky Survey has the support of the Near Earth Object Observation Program, which reports to the NASA Planetary Defense Coordination Office. Catalina’s specialists help NASA discover and track near-Earth objects that could potentially be dangerous for the planet.
In this case, they found a natural satellite that entered Earth’s orbit three years ago.
