Our Solar System is home to over one million asteroids.
Some have predictable orbits, moving elliptically around a planet. Others behave more erratically.
Like other asteroids, it could help us unlock the mysteries of the early Solar System — if we can catch up to it.
These images of the asteroid were captured during evening twilight hours on August 13, 2021.
2021 PH27’s unstable orbit takes it closer to the Sun than Mercury, and it won’t be visible from Earth again until early 2022.
Researchers say the asteroid was probably dislodged from the asteroid belt and formed a new — albeit weird — orbit due to the gravitational pull of planets in the inner Solar System.
Shutterstock
Like other asteroids, the turbocharged space rock is a remnant from the early days of the Solar System — and remains a source of mystery for researchers.
Recent efforts, like NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to the asteroid Bennu, provide new insights into the time when these artifacts formed billions of years ago.
Shutterstock
Read more stories about space here.