Earth captured a tiny asteroid named 2024 PT5 on Sunday September 9th. This asteroid will be here only for 2 months before it leaves, making it a temporary mini moon. It was first discovered in South Africa by researchers. The last day that this mini moon will be here is November 25, 2024.
A mini moon is an object from space that gets captured by Earth’s gravitational pull. These mini moons are temporary and there have been many of these before. This asteroid comes from the Arjuna asteroid belt, this asteroid belt is made of space rocks and it is very similar to Earth.
In 2020 there was another mini moon named 2020 CD3. This asteroid orbited Earth for over a year (381 days) making it the longest captured mini moon. Again, in 2022, Earth had another mini moon which was named NX1. This mini moon was captured by Earth’s gravity and was only here for 22 days.
The asteroid 2024 PT5 is only 33 feet wide (10 meters). 2024 PT5 was first discovered on August 7, 2024. Most asteroids travel around the sun. Sometimes, they come too close to Earth and get pulled in by Earth’s gravitational pull. Mini moons actually happen frequently. However, they don’t stay for long because they move farther away from Earth’s gravitational pull.
Some scientists are not sure if this asteroid should be classified as a mini moon. This is because it will not be making a full revolution around Earth. Since it won’t make a full orbit, it is a temporary captured flyby.
Unfortunately, you will not be able to see this mini moon because of its size. You also won’t be able to see it using a standard telescope you must use a larger telescope to see it. This mini moon is predicted to come back again in 2025.
