NASA designates a quasi-satellite for Earth, the Moon is no longer our only celestial companion

NASA’s armageddon spotting program is called Asteroid Watch, and it monitors and tracks potentially dangerous near approaches of asteroids and comets. The Near Earth Object Office co-ordinates all of NASA’s efforts towards identifying potentially dangerous asteroids, and it has just discovered a mini moon that orbits the earth.

https://twitter.com/AsteroidWatch/status/743214817230491649

The object, designated  asteroid 2016 HO3  has been a constant companion of Earth for almost a century. It has entered into a stable orbit, in which it is expected to remain for centuries to come. Another asteroid, 2003 YN107 was briefly locked in a similar orbit with earth for about a decade, but that one has left Earth’s neighborhood, and has gone looking for better prospects in deeper space.

The orbit for the satellite is interesting, because it is locked in a game of leap frog with earth. The asteroid travels with the Earth around the sun, once a year. The kind of locking prevents the asteroid from ranging too far from or coming too near to the Earth. NASA put out a brief video showcasing this orbit.

Asteroid 2016 HO3 was discovered on April 27 this year, and was detected by instruments in Hawaii. The program was funded by NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office . The asteroid was discovered as part of an exercise to uncover potentially hazardous objects, or PHOs.