Earth has a new moon, but don’t get too attached. Our planet’s gravity pulled a small space rock into a temporary orbit. Although the object won’t stick around for long, its brief visit offers astronomers another opportunity to observe the small bodies drifting through our cosmic neighborhood.

The small near-Earth object, called 2026 QQ8, entered orbit around our planet in late April. Astronomers initially thought it was a piece of space debris, perhaps from a rocket or satellite, drifting through Earth orbit. It was only recently that the Minor Planet Center was able to confirm that the object was of natural origin, officially declaring it a temporary mini-moon.

The space rock is expected to stick around until December before it eventually escapes Earth’s gravitational grasp and continues its journey around the Sun.

This mini-moon has earned its title, measuring only about 3 feet (1 meter) in size. Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky, who has discovered hundreds of asteroids, first spotted 2026 QQ8 on August 20, according to EarthSky.

Astronomers then carried out follow-up observations of the object using the University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope. After observing it further, they were able to confirm that it was in fact a space rock and not an orbiting piece of hardware junk.

By analyzing its orbital data, astronomers were able to reconstruct the space rock’s trajectory around the Sun and its encounters with Earth. It turns out that 2026 QQ8 makes a relatively close approach to our planet roughly once every 10 years.

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