Jupiter has one.
So does Mars.
Even Neptune, the farthest planet from the Sun, boasts seven.
Now, with the help from a University of Western Ontario professor, researchers discovered the first Trojan asteroid in Earth's orbit.
Studying images compiled by NASA, Paul Wiegert, a professor in Western's department of physics and astronomy, along with colleagues at Athabasca University and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, found a 400-metre asteroid roughly 80 million kilometres from the Earth.
"The real interesting part of the Trojan asteroid is that it accompanies the Earth in its orbit around the sun," Weigert said.
An asteroid is basically a chunk of rock, Wiegert explained.
But don't expect an Armageddon anytime soon.
The newly discovered Trojan asteroid doesn't pose any risk to our planet, Wiegert said.
"In fact, it's among the least dangerous of these asteroids because its synchronized motion with the Earth actually keeps it away from the Earth," he said. "In this case it proceeds the Earth around the sun."
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