Earth Will Get A Temporary Second Moon for 2 Months

An asteroid, named 2024 PT5, which is about the size of a city bus, will become a “mini-moon” of earth when it will get caught in earth’s gravitational pull.

This asteroid is expected to enter Earth’s orbit on September 29, 2024. It will orbit around the earth till November 25.

“Mini-moon” is used by scientists to describe any small celestial body temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity. This asteroid was discovered by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) project in August 2024.

After remaining in earth’s orbit for just under two months, asteroid 2024 PT5 will continue its journey through space. A Though referred to as a mini-moon, 2024 PT5 won’t complete a full orbit around Earth. Instead, it will be a “temporarily captured flyby,” circling around 25 percent of the planet’s surface before heading off again into the solar system.

This mini-moon cannot be observed with the naked eye or even with most telescopes. The asteroid’s magnitude, or brightness, is far too low to be detected by standard amateur astronomy equipment. Only the most advanced observatories will be able to track this mini-moon’s brief sojourn with the earth.