A one-meter rock orbits Earth as a temporary mini-moon after getting caught by the planet’s gravity in April 2026, afu.id reported.
Astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky spotted the object on August 20, 2026, from the Piszkéstető Observatory in northern Hungary, nearly four months after its capture. The Minor Planet Center confirmed in an electronic circular on October 29, 2026, that the natural asteroid is officially designated 2026 QQ8, according to afu.id.
While the Minor Planet Center classifies 2026 QQ8 as a natural rock rather than space junk, researchers initially debated whether the tiny body was an asteroid or a discarded rocket booster. “Even Minor Planet Center wasn’t sure. The astronomical community was split,” orbital modeller Tony Dunn wrote on September 3, 2026, as noted by afu.id.
Astronomers used the University of Hawaii’s 2.2-meter telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope in Arizona to study the object. That caution stemmed from past cases like 2020 SO, which turned out to be a Centaur rocket stage from a 1966 mission.
The asteroid swings around the planet in a wide, kidney-shaped path rather than a tidy circle, reaching a closest approach of about 568,000 kilometers, or roughly 1.5 times the distance to the Moon, according to afu.id. TIMES Indonesia said that the closest approach reached roughly 537,000 kilometers in August 2026, staying well beyond the Moon’s average distance of 384,400 kilometers.
Because the object sits far away and stays tiny, amateur stargazers cannot spot it through backyard telescopes or binoculars.
Earth periodically collects temporary satellites before sending them back out into interplanetary space, TIMES Indonesia reported. Past temporary visitors include 2006 RH120 and 2020 CD3, which stayed for months or even years.
Unlike those longer-lasting residents, 2026 QQ8 will leave its temporary orbit by December 2026 or January 2027, afu.id reported. After breaking free from Earth’s gravity, the asteroid will loop back around the Sun and make another close flyby in 2058 without getting recaptured.
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