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Earth is about to capture a new 'mini moon' (but it might not be a moon at all)
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Earth is about to capture a new 'mini moon' (but it might not be a moon at all)

But this particular mini-moon may be a little different – as experts have suggested it’s not a moon at all, but man-made space junk. 

Science & Tech

A new mini-moon might be about to join Earth’s orbit briefly, before being hurled back into space.

‘Minimoons' are only a few feet across, and each tends to do a stint of around a few months in orbit – before resuming their previous lives as asteroids.

But this particular mini-moon may be a little different – as experts have suggested it’s not a moon at all, but man-made space junk.

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Specifically, it may be a discarded part of a rocket launched in 1966, experts have suggested.

The tiny object, known as 2020 SO, was spotted by the Pan-STARRS1 at the Haleakala Observatory on 17 September, ScienceAlert reports.