Earth usually has more than one moon at any given time, according to the results of a new computer simulation.
The huge, bright and iconic moon so beloved by poets and romantics is joined by a rotating cast of captured asteroids that often measure just a few feet across. These mini-moons typically orbit Earth for less than a year before zipping back off into space, researchers said.
The scientists used a French supercomputer to simulate the movements of 10 million near-Earth asteroids as they passed by our planet. They then tracked the trajectories of the 18,000 space rocks that Earth's gravity captured in the simulation.
Earth Usually Has More than One Moon, Study Suggests
