Scientists discover Earth may have at least 6 ‘mini-moons’ we never knew about.

We’ve always been told Earth has just one moon. But what if we told you that at any given moment, there might be six tiny moons quietly zipping around our planet? 🛰️

Meet the “minimoons” — small space rocks or moon fragments temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity. These aren’t like our familiar full-sized Moon. They’re more like cosmic hitchhikers, only staying for a short orbit or two before heading back out into space.

🌕 What Exactly Is a Minimoon?

A minimoon is typically a small asteroid or lunar fragment that briefly gets pulled into Earth’s orbit. These little guys are hard to spot — they’re fast, small, and don’t stick around for long. Most minimoons only stay for around nine months before gravity flings them back into orbit around the Sun.

According to a recent study published in Icarus Journal, Earth might have an average of 6.5 minimoons circling it at any time. The catch? They’re really tough to detect.

Scientists have discovered that Earth could have at least six minimoons (Getty Stock Photo)

“It’s kind of like a square dance,” explains Robert Jedicke, a researcher at the University of Hawaii, in an interview with Space.com. “Partners change regularly and sometimes leave the dance floor for a while.”

🪨 Where Do These Minimoons Come From?

Some minimoons are asteroids from space, but others may actually be fragments chipped off the Moon itself. When space debris crashes into the Moon, it can send pieces flying. Most of those fragments drift toward the Sun, but a few get caught in Earth’s gravitational pull, becoming temporary moons.

Jedicke and his team set out to calculate how many lunar minimoons exist (Getty Stock Photo)

🔭 Why Are They So Hard to Spot?

It’s all about size and speed. These objects are often no bigger than a microwave, which means they must be very close to Earth to be visible through telescopes. But when they’re close, they move across the sky too quickly for easy tracking.

A minimoon is a small asteroid (Getty Stock Photo)

“It is incredible that modern telescopic surveys have the ability to detect such small objects up to millions of kilometers away,” Jedicke said.

🌑 Remember 2024-PT5?

In 2024, a small object named 2024-PT5 was briefly captured by Earth’s gravity. It came from the Arjuna asteroid group, a cluster of space rocks with orbits similar to Earth’s. According to Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, these asteroids occasionally swing close enough to get caught — but only temporarily.

📅 2024-PT5 isn’t expected to return until 2055, making its recent visit all the more exciting.

📚 Want to Dive Deeper?

• Read the original study on Icarus
• Learn more about Arjuna asteroids on Wikipedia
• Check out NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Program for asteroid tracking

🌟 So next time you look up at the night sky, remember — there might be more than one moon waving back at you.