2024-09-17 17:29:31
The Earth will have a second companion for a short time: an asteroid will orbit our planet for almost two months. But you won’t be able to see it.
There are planets that have a lot of moons, like Saturn with its 145 satellites. Our Earth only has one moon – at least for now. Soon our planet will have a mini-moon for a short time.
This is an asteroid called 2024 PT5. The small rock will approach the Earth at the end of September and will orbit around our planet for some time due to its gravitational pull – 57 days to be precise, from September 29 to November 25.
In contrast to our “permanent” moon, which has a With a diameter of 3,475 kilometers, the asteroid is tiny with a diameter of ten meters. That’s why you can’t see it with the naked eye – or with normal binoculars or a telescope.
Scientists at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid found that 2024 PT5 is probably one of the so-called Arjuna asteroids, which are near-Earth asteroids. Characteristics of these asteroids include an Earth-like orbit around the sun and an orbital period of about one Earth year.
Because of its similar orbit, 2024 PT5 is expected to be a short-term companion of Earth more often – in 2025 and 2055, as current calculations suggest.
It is rare for asteroids to become another “moon” of our planet for a certain period of time, but it is not an unknown phenomenon. The last time the asteroid NX1 orbited the Earth was in 2022 and before that in 1981. NX1 could also return in 2051. However, with a diameter of ten meters, we will also be unable to see this asteroid.