Double the Delight: Earth to Get a Temporary ‘Mini Moon’ Companion for 2 Mesmerizing Months

Earth to Gain a Temporary ‘Minimoon’ from September 29 to November 25

According to recent reports from foreign news agencies, researchers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, a NASA-funded asteroid tracking system, have discovered an asteroid in Sutherland, South Africa, designated as 2024 PT5.

This asteroid, measuring approximately 10 meters in length, will be significantly smaller than Earth’s Moon, which has a diameter of about 3,474 kilometers. The asteroid’s trajectory will be influenced by Earth’s gravity, causing it to orbit our planet for about two months and become a temporary ‘minimoon’.

The asteroid’s orbit will last from September 29 to November 25, with an average distance of about 4.5 million kilometers from Earth. After breaking its orbit, the asteroid will return to its original position in the asteroid belt, orbiting the Sun. It is expected to return to Earth’s orbit again in 2055.

Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, head of the research team from the Complutense University of Madrid, explained that the asteroid originates from the ‘Arjuna’ asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt with an orbit similar to that of Earth. The asteroid’s slow speed of approximately 3,540 km/h will cause its path to be influenced by Earth’s gravity, potentially making it a temporary moon.

Although the asteroid is too small to be visible to the naked eye or with standard telescopes and binoculars, professional astronomers using advanced telescopes may be able to observe it. This is not the first instance of a ‘minimoon’ visiting Earth, as two similar events occurred in 1981 and 2022.