
Earth might have a tiny new moon - prostoalex
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2235427-earth-has-acquired-a-brand-new-moon-thats-about-the-size-of-a-car/
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tyfon
One of the facinating things about this is that simulations show that it "may
have been captured by Earth around 2016–2017" [1].

In 2017 we had a visitor from outer space called ʻOumuamua :)

This new object is also about 2-3.5 meters according to wikipedia so I want
someone to send a ship to capture this Van Neumann probe [2]!

(Yes I know it's not likely but it is cool to think about)

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_CD3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_CD3)

[2] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
replicating_spacecraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-
replicating_spacecraft)

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nickm12
It's technically correct, but let's not cheapen the word moon for this rock.
"Natural satellite" will do.

~~~
pferde
So, not Luna, but a diminutive Lunita? :)

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singularity2001
Luniculum

~~~
blue1
Luna is a feminine noun in latin. So, lunicula.

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wjmao88
So now any space station can claim to be "moon-sized fortress"

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SketchySeaBeast
Is there a petition to rename the ISS "The Death Star" yet?

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arethuza
If it were a fair bit bigger it could be attached to the front of the ISS -
you never know when things like that might come in handy...

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renke1
Seveneves reference?

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arethuza
Yes - couldn't resist. :-)

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justlexi93
A tiny asteroid captures the attention of astronomers that may have been
around for a year, but will be gone in the spring.

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ASalazarMX
Why are space agencies not scrambling to capture this one? It's a 5 ton virgin
asteroid, the scientific value must be high.

Also, practicing emergency missions would prepare us for investigation of
unusual objects like Oumuamua.

~~~
taborj
Paging Elon Musk...

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me_me_me
We should call it Minmus.

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thdrdt
This also happened in 2006. The 'moon' 2006 RH120 stayed with us for about 11
months.

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galkk
Assuming that this isn't space Tesla, I'm curious how much damage it could
bring to Earth if it hit it

~~~
droithomme
Likely very little to none. Something that size mostly burns up in the
atmosphere. Maybe a schoolboy would be slightly singed by a pebble while
walking home.

[https://www.space.com/6833-boy-hit-
meteorite.html](https://www.space.com/6833-boy-hit-meteorite.html)

Famous previous case:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylacauga_(meteorite)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylacauga_\(meteorite\))

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droithomme
Not really but kind of. In the same way we have hundreds of thousands of small
satellite bodies.

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twodave
I thought to be classified as a moon you needed a distinctly observable
gravity field?

~~~
beckingz
Technically the earth hasn't cleared it's orbit because of the moon.

So the earth is not a planet.

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jerf
If we're going down to that level of pedentry (and why not?), the Earth is not
a planet in that sense, it's part of a double-planet system.

~~~
beckingz
That was Alan Stern's take if I recall correctly.

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Double_a_92
> The orbit isn’t stable, so eventually 2020 CD3 will be flung away from
> Earth.

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lyxsus
But could we keep it if we wanted to? Is it possible to make any use out of
it?

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mkl
No much point - it's tiny. A Falcon 9 can put 3-4 times [1] that mass
(~4,900kg [2]) into a stable low Earth orbit.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_launch_s...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_orbital_launch_systems)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_CD3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_CD3)

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dfsegoat
That’s no moon...

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Faaak
Curious question: what are the red-blue-green artifacts on the picture ? Is it
due to the CCD sensor ?

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TwoBit
I imagine this mini moon could be ejected from orbit if it gets sling shot by
the moon in the right way.

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taneq
If that's a moon then so's the ISS.

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krapp
That's no moon. It's a space station.

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saagarjha
They set you right up for that one ;)

