A mysterious rock orbiting Earth appears to be a chunk of the moon that was blasted away by a meteorite

• A space rock with a peculiar orbit may be a floating piece of the moon.
• Scientists had thought moon rocks weren't able to stay in orbit after a meteorite blast.
• The new discovery could help better protect us from collisions with near-Earth asteroids.

A chunk of the moon that may have broken away from the lunar surface millions of years ago appears to be orbiting our planet.

The 'quasi-satellite,' named Kamo`oalewa, has baffled scientists for decades due, in part, to its peculiar orbit.