Space boffins had always thought that the Earth only ever had one moon, but a new discovery has blown that theory out of the water after a ‘quasi-moon’ was found
A new “quasi-moon” has been found near Earth and it turns out that it’s been by our side for more than 2,000 years.
Given the catchy named of 2023 FW13, the rock is essentially a “fake moon” and is around 14million kilometres from Earth.
NASA experts only discovered it in March, but found that it is actually influenced by the Earth’s gravitational pull, just like our actual moon.
It is estimated that it has been our close neighbour since around 100 BC and could be with us until around the year 3,700.
Adrien Coffinet, who was the first person to label it as a “quasi moon”, told Sky and Telescope: “When I saw the announcement, the very Earth-like semimajor axis looked suspicious to me.
“It seems to be the longest quasi-satellite of Earth known to date.”
He also reckons the rock is around 20 metres in diameter – or 10 Hulk Hogans, to be exact.
The good news, however, is that it will not impact on Earth or hit us at all, according to astronomer Alan Harris.
He said: “Such an orbit doesn’t result in an impacting trajectory ‘out of the blue’.”
However, something that could crash into us this month is an asteroid the size of 422 Hulk Hogans.
An asteroid dubbed 2020 DB5 has been placed on NASA’s Near Earth Object list ahead of its June 15 impact.
Measuring a whopping 850 metres in diameter, the rock will also be travelling at around 9.51 km/s.
Despite coming very close to the planet, NASA scientists have not confirmed if any damage will be caused but it’s highly unlikely to.
The last time the giant rock came near Earth was in 1995, with a three separate visits in the 1960s taking place before that.
The first time it was spotted was on May 28, 1905, when it was travelling at around 10.59 km/s at the time.
NASA’s schedule has it visiting Earth for the last time on July 23, 2179, and you can be sure that the Daily Star will keep you up to date with all the latest news about 2020 DB5 ahead of that historic moments.