Earth has a sort-of second moon

http://ift.tt/25ZxaEw

Small Asteroid Is Earth's Constant Companion

Quote:

As it orbits the sun, this new asteroid, designated 2016 HO3, appears to circle around Earth as well. It is too distant to be considered a true satellite of our planet, but it is the best and most stable example to date of a near-Earth companion, or "quasi-satellite." "Since 2016 HO3 loops around our planet, but never ventures very far away as we both go around the sun, we refer to it as a quasi-satellite of Earth," said Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

So surprised someone else hasn't posted about this already. Small asteroid is effectively a quasi-moon, sharing an orbit in such a way that it partially orbits the Earth. Pretty cool. Unfortunate that it won't go into full orbit around the Earth, having a second true moon would be neat.

via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/29NATvY