Last year, Earth briefly had a tiny cosmic companion—a space rock dubbed its “mini-moon.” But here’s the twist: scientists now think this asteroid might actually be a piece of the moon itself.

The object, known as 2024 PT5, is about 33 feet wide. It got close to our planet but never fully orbited it, following a unique horseshoe-shaped path instead. Researchers say it’s now drifting away and poses no threat to Earth in the coming decades.

What’s fascinating is 2024 PT5’s orbit resembles Earth’s, hinting it came from our corner of the solar system. Astronomers first spotted it last August and later studied its surface using telescopes in Hawaii and Arizona. The sunlight reflecting off the asteroid revealed it’s rich in silicate minerals—the same stuff found in lunar rocks.

“This asteroid looks like it hasn’t been in space for long, maybe just a few thousand years,” said one researcher. “It’s likely a piece of the moon blasted off by an ancient impact.”

This discovery could shed light on how often asteroid strikes on the moon send debris hurtling toward Earth. So far, only one other asteroid, Kamo‘oalewa, discovered in 2016, has been confirmed as lunar in origin. But scientists believe there could be more out there.

To confirm 2024 PT5 wasn’t just space junk, like an old rocket booster, the team analyzed how it moved. Space rocks and human-made debris behave differently under sunlight pressure, and this object’s motion pointed to it being a natural asteroid.

“If there’s one, it’s an outlier. But with two, it suggests a whole population of lunar asteroids waiting to be discovered,” said the lead researcher. Future telescopes, like the Vera Rubin Observatory and NEO Surveyor, are expected to find more of these lunar fragments, helping scientists learn more about the moon’s history and composition.

Who knew Earth’s “mini-moon” could be so moon-like?