Two astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona discovered the asteroid designated 2020 CD3 on February 15.

(Kacper Wierzchos/Twitter)

At a Glance

Astronomers discovered an asteroid 6 to 11 feet in diameter circling the Earth.It's only the second time an asteroid has been confirmed to orbit the planet.Researchers expect it may be flung out of orbit soon.

Earth has a new neighbor, but this minimoon circling the planet may not stick around.

Astronomers with the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona detected the object — an asteroid roughly 6 to 11 feet in diameter — on Feb. 15.

On Tuesday, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced multiple observations had confirmed the asteroid, designated 2020 CD3, .

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The observations "indicate that this object is temporarily bound to the Earth. No evidence of perturbations due to solar radiation pressure is seen, and no link to a known artificial object has been found," the organization said in a circular.

Catalina Sky Survey researchers Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne discovered the asteroid.

In a series of tweets, Wierzchos said its orbit showed it had .

It circles the planet about , according to New Scientist magazine. Its wide, oval orbit loops far outside the path of Earth's primary moon.

Only one other asteroid has been confirmed to orbit Earth. An asteroid called 2006 RH120 orbited the planet for , according to phys.org.

Most of the asteroids that get caught in Earth's gravity enter the atmosphere and burn up or they quickly , Science Alert reported.

2020 CD3 also is unlikely to stick around much longer. It could be flung out of Earth's orbit as soon as April.

“It is heading away from the Earth-moon system as we speak,” Grigori Fedorets, an astrophysicist at Queen’s University Belfast, told New Scientist.