Scientists find a new satellite of the Earth

The tiny space object is estimated to have a diameter of about 6-12 feet and has a surface brightness similar to Type C asteroid, very rich in carbon and very common.

This sight is rare due to the fact that there are more than a million known asteroids, but this is only the second time a planet orbits the Earth.

The NASA-sponsored Catalina sky survey discovered an asteroid called 2020 CD3, which orbited our planet for three years.

The Catalina Sky Survey is a NASA-funded project supported by the Near Earth Observatory Program (NEOO) of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO).

The organization is based at the University of Arizona's Moon and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona and focuses on tracking and discovering objects near the Earth.

Their latest discovery, 2020 CD3, was seen in the night sky on February 15 by astronomers Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne.

The mini moon was later discovered four times on February 17, which is sufficient evidence for experts to confirm it is orbiting our planet.

According to BIG NEWs. Earth: "On the night of February 15, my teammate surveyed the Catalina sky Teddy Pruyne and I found an object with the 20th intensity," Wierzchos shared in a tweet on February 25, after The Small Planet Center, a branch of the International Astronomical Union, classifies the asteroid as a temporary object.

The team compared its size with a washing machine and believed it had orbited Earth for about three years, based on orbital calculations.

The last small moon to appear in Earth's gravity was last year and it fell from the skies of Australia.

The fireball was first discovered by the Australian Desert Globe Network in August 2016 and at that time astronomers thought it was a normal meteorite.

The fireball DN160822_03 - in the photo - was discovered flying in the sky over Australia in 2016 but it was not confirmed as a small moon until 2019

The orbital researchers said the fireball, called DN160822_03 , actually orbited the Earth before losing its orbit, turning it into a small moon.

Only another small moon has been observed with a telescope and it orbits the Earth for 11 months before flying into space.

In 2006, the University of Arizona's Catalina Sky Survey discovered a small moon about the size of a car. Known as 2006 RH120, it orbits the Earth in less than a year after its discovery, then returns to the orbit of the Sun.

Our moon, discovered by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and others of the Apollo mission, is 2,000 miles in diameter and has orbited Earth for 4 billion years.

In contrast, a small moon is thought to be several feet across and only orbits the planet in less than a year before becoming an asteroid or falling to Earth like a meteorite fireball.

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