Plate Nº 93 · recorded November 13, 2026
Space & AstronomyReported finding
Earth Has a Second Moon Until January, Astronomers Confirm
Astronomers have confirmed a 2-meter asteroid named 2026 QQ8 has been orbiting Earth since April and will remain a temporary second moon until January 2027.
By Priya Raman3 min read524 words
In brief
- Asteroid 2026 QQ8, about 6 feet (2 meters) wide, was confirmed as Earth's temporary second moon on Oct. 29 by the IAU's Minor Planet Center.
- The minimoon entered Earth's orbit in April and is expected to leave in January 2027.
- It orbits at about 1.5 times the average distance of the moon and takes 359 days to circle the sun.
- The first confirmed minimoon, 1991 VG, was detected in November 1991 and measured about 30 feet across.
- The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is expected to detect millions of unknown moving objects over its 10-year mission.
Earth is currently carrying two moons, and the smaller of the two will stay until January 2027. On October 29, the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center — the official body that logs and confirms new solar system objects — formally confirmed that a small asteroid, designated 2026 QQ8, entered Earth's orbit in April and now circles our planet as a temporary satellite, commonly called a minimoon.
Hungarian researcher Krisztián Sárneczky first spotted the object in August. Confirmation followed in late October, establishing that Earth's gravity had captured the rock and pulled it into a temporary orbit. Astronomers expect 2026 QQ8 to remain a companion through the holiday season before breaking free of our planet's influence in January.
How big is the new moon, and is it dangerous?
It is small. The IAU measures 2026 QQ8 at roughly 6 feet (2 meters) across. If it ever drifted too close, it would almost certainly burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Researchers consider even that scenario unlikely, because the object currently orbits at about 1.5 times the average distance of the moon.
The asteroid belongs to a class known as Aten asteroids — space rocks whose orbits occasionally cross Earth's and whose semimajor axes (the average radius of an orbital path) are smaller than Earth's, meaning they typically travel closer to the sun than our planet does. Large Aten asteroids are considered the most dangerous asteroid type, since they can hide in the sun's glare before speeding toward Earth. The new minimoon is far too small to pose any such threat.
Where did it come from?
2026 QQ8 takes 359 days — almost a full Earth year — to complete one orbit of the sun, and it swings near our planet roughly every 10 years. This latest close pass allowed Earth's gravity to temporarily capture it, an event astronomers now believe happens regularly.
Is this the first time Earth has captured a minimoon?
No. The first confirmed minimoon, 1991 VG, was detected in November 1991 and measured about 30 feet (10 meters) in diameter. Astronomers now think Earth grabs such companions fairly often, and that at least one minimoon likely circles the planet at any given time. Most stay for less than a year, although a handful remain within Earth's gravitational pull for decades.
What comes next for minimoon hunting?
New telescopes should reveal far more of these fleeting satellites as they enter and leave Earth's orbit. The most prominent is the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which began operation earlier this year. The observatory scans the entire Southern Hemisphere sky every few days, and it has already identified what may be a new dwarf planet in the outer solar system as well as a previously unknown satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Over its planned 10-year mission, the Rubin Observatory is expected to detect millions of previously unknown moving objects in space, a haul that should include many more temporary moons like 2026 QQ8.
For now, skywatchers can take quiet satisfaction in the arithmetic: one planet, two moons, and a departure scheduled for January.
By Priya Raman
via livescience.com/feeds/news (Source)
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Senior reporter covering people, launches and day-to-day practice in general science news at SciBeat.
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