Earth's temporary asteroid friend last year was a chunk of its real moon that had been blasted into space thousands of years ago, scientists find.

A near-Earth object was likely ejected into space after an impact thousands of years ago. Now it could contribute new insights to asteroid and lunar science.

Last year, astronomers on the hunt for potentially dangerous near-Earth asteroids spotted something unusual. A space rock, now dubbed 2024 PT5 made several close passes by Earth, not quite orbiting our planet,

The case of mistaken identity was quickly resolved, but astronomers say it shows the need for transparency around craft in deep space.