A mysterious body orbiting the Earth was first discovered in 2006 by some scientists from the University of Hawaii, but it actually turned to be a tiny asteroid. Furthermore, it was something similar to our Moon. It orbited us till June 2007, when it left on the lookout for new planets to orbit. This object, later named 2006 RH120 was the first documented example of a temporary Moon.
Later on, serious studies were launched to discern whether there are actually several Moons around us. The latest information obtained from these investigations is the one above mentioned. In other words, our planet might have a secret moon orbiting us. Such objects typically stay for about 10 months, making three revolutions around the planet.
NASA has repeatedly focused on their interest of sending people to asteroids, so if we could find and orbiting asteroid, it would be great. The trouble is that these asteroids are too tiny to be clearly seen and located. Despite this, we should still try it, paraphrasing Mikael Granvik, researcher at the University of Hawaii: "The scientific potential of being able to first remotely characterize a meteoroid and then visit and bring it back to Earth would be unprecedented."
Further information can be found at MIT Technology Review web.
Via: Fox News
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