Could a near-Earth asteroid enter into orbit around Earth

Published: February 22, 2010

In June 2006, Earth captured tiny asteroid 2006 RH₁₂₀. This space rock became a temporary Earth satellite, sticking around for roughly 1 year.

Photo by Peter Birtwhistle, Great Shefford Observatory

While the Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite, a few small near-Earth asteroids have become temporary Earth satellites. However, if a massive third body, like the Moon, gravitationally nudged a small object, or if an asteroid-Moon collision ejected an object from the Moon's surface, it could then become a long-term Earth satellite.

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