According to a report published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, an asteroid much tinier than our moon will be held in orbit by Earth's gravity for approximately two months, transforming into a "mini moon."
What Do The Experts Say?
“The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth,” Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, a professor at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the lead author of the research, told Space.com.
“Under these conditions … the object may become a temporary moon of Earth,” he said, adding it would happen to the asteroid in question starting next week and lasting about two months.
The object will be “too small and dim for typical amateur telescopes and binoculars”, Marcos added. “However, the object is well within the brightness range of typical telescopes used by professional astronomers.”
Asteroids approaching Earth's gravity | X (@PeterWMurphy1)
What Do We Know About The Mini-Moon?
An asteroid, namely 2024 PT5, was first spotted on 7 August by the Atlas program, funded by NASA, which monitors potential impact threats. It is approximately 10 metres (33 feet) in length, much smaller than the Earth's moon, and has a diameter of around 3,474 km, similar to a city bus.
If it is moving at a slower speed of about 2,200mph (3,540km/h) for asteroids, then the Earth's gravity has a stronger impact on their paths than usual.
The professor also mentioned that it would not complete a complete orbit around the Earth. It will be in the vicinity of Earth from 29 September to 25 November before heading back to its home in an asteroid belt around the sun.
Have We Witnessed Mini-Moon Previously?
The Earth has had mini-moons before this one. The researchers stated in their publication that there were two mini-moon events in 1981 and 2022. The researchers mentioned that they anticipate the asteroid mini-moon will come back to Earth's orbit once more in 2055.
