Observations made by the Discovery Telescope operated by Lowell Observatory in Happy Jack have helped an international team of scientists confirm the existence of a second-known Earth Trojan Asteroid, or ETA.
A Trojan asteroid orbits the sun in the vicinity of Earth. Only two have been discovered so far.
Researchers say ETAs provide insight into the evolution of the solar system and are ideal candidates for potential space missions because a spacecraft would require relatively low energy to stay in its shared orbit with Earth.
The findings culminate a ten-year search for such an object by researchers at the University of Barcelona and University of Alicante.