Astronomers confirm a tiny new moon is orbiting Earth, and it'll stick around for the holidays

A tiny new moon, designated 2026 QQ8, has been confirmed to be orbiting Earth, according to astronomers. This extraterrestrial object, first spotted in August, will remain in our planet's gravitational sphere until January 2027. Discovered by Hungarian researcher Krisztián Sárneczky, the space rock is estimated to be about 6 feet (2 meters) across.

Despite its proximity to Earth, experts believe it poses no threat as it currently orbits at around 1.5 times the average distance of the moon. Taking almost a year to complete an orbit around the sun, 2026 QQ8 visits our planet every 10 years or so. Classified as an Aten asteroid, this small space rock is not expected to cause any harm due to its size.

This latest discovery joins a growing list of minimoons, with the first one, 1991 VG, having been observed in 1991. As we continue to explore the cosmos with new telescopes, such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, the number of minimoons may increase as we detect more of these celestial travelers entering and leaving Earth's orbit.