Earth to get a mini moon for two months in September

Here are the dates that Asteroid 2024 PT5 will orbit the Blue Planet

Dubai: The Earth is about to get a second moon, this month, in the form of a tiny asteroid.

According to a recent study published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, a team of scientists studying what are called “mini moon events”, discovered a tiny asteroid headed towards Earth, during routine monitoring on August 7.

Published by space researchers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, the study said that the asteroid was named 2024 PT5.

The study titled ‘A Two-month Mini moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November’, states: “Asteroid 2024 PT5 was discovered on August 7, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System observing with the instrument located in Sutherland, South Africa.”

The scientists observed the peculiar dynamic properties of this asteroid that came from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which is a group of asteroids trailing the Earth and orbiting the Sun, 93 million miles away.

What are 'mini moons'?
According to the US-based Planetary Society, asteroids or space bodies that pass by the Earth are sometimes captured by the planet’s gravitational pull. They end up orbiting the Earth for a short duration and are termed as mini moons.
An article on space.com quoted Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, the study’s lead author as saying that, to be considered a mini moon, a space body must reach Earth at a range of about 2.8 million miles and at a steady space of around 2,200mph.

The asteroid 2024 PT5 will be drawn by the Earth’s gravitational pull, becoming a “mini moon”, and will orbit the planet for about two months, from September 29 to November 25, before it heads back to its home in the asteroid belt.

Researchers predict that that the 33-feet long asteroid will make a horseshoe-shaped orbit around Earth and exit the orbit before managing to complete a full rotation around the planet.

The study adds that the asteroid is expected to make a return to the planet’s orbit in 2055.

However, the mini moon will not be visible to the naked eye or with amateur telescopes, due to its small size, according to the study.

Marcos added that professional-grade telescopes with a diameter of at least 30 inches and a charge coupled device or complementary metal oxide semiconductor detector, will be needed to view the mini moon.

A Forbes.com article adds that Asteroid 2024 PT5 may be a piece of Earth’s moon.

The asteroid’s previous motion suggests it’s “possibly a piece of ejecta from an impact on the moon”, Paul Chodas, the director of the Center for Near Earth Object Studies at US-based Nasa’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told The New York Times.