Earth has one permanent natural moon, commonly known simply as "the Moon," which is the largest and brightest object in our night sky and the only celestial body besides Earth visited by humans
. However, Earth can temporarily capture small near-Earth objects, called "minimoons" or "quasi-satellites," which orbit Earth for short periods before moving on. These are not stable moons like the Moon but are sometimes referred to as temporary or second moons. Examples include asteroids like 2006 RH120, 2020 CD3, and 2024 PT5, which have orbited Earth briefly
. In summary:
- Earth has one true, permanent moon.
- It occasionally has temporary small natural satellites ("minimoons") that orbit for limited times.
- Claims of additional stable moons beyond the Moon have not been confirmed by science
