Earth’s tiny companion 2026 QQ8 appears to be a natural object rather than space junk, according to Amoledo’s account of Minor Planet Center findings. The center identified it as most likely a temporary minimoon after additional observations ruled out an artificial origin. First order of business: make sure the new moon isn’t something we launched. Source
Don’t get too attached, though. Amoledo, citing BBC Sky at Night Magazine, puts the asteroid’s estimated diameter at roughly 1–2 meters and its capture by Earth’s gravity in April 2026. It may leave Earth’s vicinity in December 2026 or January 2027. Live Science’s November 13 post gives January as the expected departure. Source Source
The object initially carried the working designation Sar2901. Its trajectory allowed both natural and artificial explanations, Amoledo reports, and a September 2 Minor Planet Center notice deferred assigning a designation while astronomers worked out what they were looking at. Source
According to Amoledo’s account of the center’s October newsletter, observations spanning about seven weeks allowed astronomers to assess how sunlight’s tiny push affected the object’s motion. Measurements of that solar-radiation pressure supported excluding an artificial origin. Source
Amoledo, citing NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explains why that helps: sunlight changes the motion of a lightweight, hollow object with a large surface area more strongly than it changes the motion of dense rock. The important quantity is surface area relative to mass. Source
Amoledo recounts NASA’s finding that 2020 SO was a Centaur upper stage from the 1966 Surveyor 2 lunar mission, rather than a natural visitor. Sometimes the mysterious object really is our old hardware coming back around. Source
2026 QQ8 is too small and distant for an amateur telescope, Amoledo says. The outlet also reports that the Minor Planet Center called for continued observations and study of its motion. Source
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