Daily Facts
Nature
The Earth Had 2 Moons
Between September 2006 and June 2007, the Earth temporarily had a second moon. It was a small asteroid named 2006 RH120, discovered on September 14, 2006, by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. Modest in size -- about 4 meters in diameter -- this object was captured by Earth's gravitational pull, allowing it to enter orbit around our planet.
During this period, 2006 RH120 completed four full revolutions around the Earth, making it a temporary natural satellite.
In July 2007, it was ejected and returned to an orbit around the Sun.
2006 RH120 is not the only object of its kind: similar asteroids have been detected in temporary orbit since then, such as 2020 CD3.
Source: futura-sciences.com
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