Earth gains new moon as space rock is captured by planet's gravity

Earth gains new moon as space rock is captured by planet's gravity The new neighbour has been called 2026 QQ8 Earth has gained a second tiny moon after a small space rock was captured by our planet's gravity. The object, known as 2026 QQ8, entered orbit around Earth and is expected to remain until December, when it will escape the planet's gravitational pull and continue its journey around the Sun. Although the space rock's stay is relatively brief, its presence offers astronomers another opportunity to study the small objects passing through our cosmic neighbourhood. Initially, scientists believed 2026 QQ8 might be a piece of space debris, possibly from a rocket or satellite. However, further observations enabled the Minor Planet Center to confirm that it was a naturally occurring object, officially classifying it as a temporary mini-moon. Measuring approximately one metre (3ft) across, 2026 QQ8 is considerably smaller than Earth's permanent natural satellite. Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky, who has discovered hundreds of asteroids, first spotted the object on 20 August, according to EarthSky. Astronomers subsequently carried out follow-up observations using the University of Hawaii's 2.2-metre telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope. These observations helped establish that the object was a natural space rock rather than a piece of human-made equipment orbiting Earth. By analysing its orbital data, researchers were able to reconstruct 2026 QQ8's path around the Sun and its previous encounters with our planet. In April, the space rock crossed this boundary and became temporarily gravitationally bound to Earth. As a result, it began orbiting our planet as a mini-moon. However, 2026 QQ8's stay is expected to end in December, when it will break free of Earth's gravitational influence and resume its orbit around the Sun. During previous encounters, 2026 QQ8 never entered Earth's Hill sphere – the region around our planet where its gravitational influence can keep an object bound to it despite the pull of the Sun. It passed nearby in 1965, but was not close enough to be captured by Earth's gravity. Its next predicted close approach is in 2058, although it is again expected to remain too far away to become a temporary satellite.