Earth has a new mini-moon: Tiny asteroid 2026 QQ8 was captured in April, spotted in August and will leave by early 2027

Earth has acquired a temporary companion in space, but it will not stay for long. A small space rock named 2026 QQ8 was pulled into Earth's gravitational grip in April 2026, remained unnoticed for months and was first spotted in August.

Now confirmed as a natural object, the roughly 1–2-metre-wide asteroid is expected to remain temporarily bound to our planet until December before escaping and continuing its journey around the Sun in 2027.The discovery was reported by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center on October 29, after astronomers had gathered enough observations to establish the object's identity and trajectory. Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky first observed it on August 19–20, according to reports by Space.com.

Initially, however, scientists were unsure whether the faint object was a natural space rock or human-made debris from an old rocket or satellite.Follow-up observations helped resolve that uncertainty. Astronomers used the University of Hawaii's 2.2-metre telescope and the Lowell Discovery Telescope to study the object.