Earth's New, Temporary Moon
Yes, we have another moon of sorts. It almost seems like fun to tell you to go outside and look for it, but that would be a waste of time because the thing is very small. This explains why it was discovered after it had been setting up camp out yonder for a spell, but it should be leaving us very soon.
This is not uncommon. Occasional asteroids and such are passing through doing asteroid stuff, then they get hung up on the earth's gravitational field. After a few orbits, they are propelled into space to seek amusement elsewhere. It is interesting that the untenable "capture theory" (our moon was a traveler that was caught by the earth's gravity) is somewhat exhibited with this current extra moon and other rocks in the past. That is, it comes along, orbits a while, and is gone. The "capture theory" doesn't work for the moons of Mars, and it certainly doesn't work for our moon. That's because naturalism fails to explain what is observed. Our entire universe was created recently.
Gravity is interesting but also tricky. When scientists are calculating orbits and gravity, things become even more difficult. It has been determined that the object with the thrillingly romantic name of 2020 CD3 will make a couple of return passes. Using present data, it was determined that the little thing has already been in orbit for about three years.
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| This is the moon we are used to Image credit: NASA (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) |
Gravity is interesting but also tricky. When scientists are calculating orbits and gravity, things become even more difficult. It has been determined that the object with the thrillingly romantic name of 2020 CD3 will make a couple of return passes. Using present data, it was determined that the little thing has already been in orbit for about three years.
In late February [2020], there were press accounts of a new “mini-moon” orbiting earth. Discovered in mid-February, this object received the designation 2020 CD3 (if you are curious as to what this name means, please see this article). Many people are fascinated with 2020 CD3 and naturally have questions about it. For instance, you may wonder if we can go outside and see 2020 CD3 like we can see the moon. The answer to that question is simple: No. 2020 CD3 is so faint that it taxes the abilities of the largest telescopes in the world to photograph it. The reason that 2020 CD3 is so faint is that it is very small, about the size of a small car (compare that to the moon, which is 2,000 miles across).To finish reading, click on "The 'Mini-Moon' 2020 CD3".