For the past two months, an asteroid named 2024 PT5 has been orbiting Earth like a “mini moon.”
Now, Earth is preparing to say goodbye to this special “mini moon.”
Due to the Sun’s gravitational pull being stronger than Earth’s gravity, this 10-meter-diameter asteroid will detach from its current orbit. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) stated that this asteroid may have originated from a meteorite collision on the Moon. NASA will also utilize radar to track the asteroid’s trajectory, and it is expected that Earth will have the chance to meet this “mini moon” again after the asteroid completes its journey around the Sun in 31 years.
“This mini moon” belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt.
Earlier, according to a study published by the American Astronomical Society at the end of September, it was predicted that Earth’s gravity would capture an asteroid into its orbit for two months. This means that the asteroid, roughly the size of a bus, would become Earth’s “mini moon.”
The asteroid will remain in Earth’s orbit from September 29 to November 25, after which it will return to the asteroid belt around the Sun.
Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from Complutense University of Madrid, who led the study, shared: “The object that will visit us belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt. This is a secondary belt composed of cosmic rocks that follows a trajectory similar to Earth’s.”
Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos explained that some asteroids from the Arjuna belt can approach Earth, at a distance of about 4.5 million kilometers.
If their speed is low, around 3,540 km/h, their journey may be significantly influenced by Earth’s magnetic field. Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos noted that under such conditions, the asteroid could become a temporary moon of Earth. However, he added that it would not follow a complete orbit around Earth.
This asteroid was discovered on August 7, measuring 10 meters in length. Scientists predict that this “mini moon” will return to Earth’s orbit in 2055.
This is not the first “mini moon” for Earth; similar events occurred in 1981 and 2022.
