Will the Earth have a ‘mini Moon’? In addition to the natural satellite that orbits the planet, for a few days there will also be a ‘new companion’. It is about the asteroid named 2024 PT5.
Mar Gómez, doctor in Physics, explains that the phenomenon will last at least 57 days and will continue until mid-November. Furthermore, this ‘dance’ will not be repeated for another 30 years, in 2055; However, a similar event occurred in 2020, when a small asteroid also orbited the Earth.
The asteroid was discovered in August by the ATLAS observatory in South Africa. From the discovery, researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid realized that the celestial body has an orbit around the Earth, this is similar to what the Moon does when it rotates around the planet. Hence the name ‘Luna temporal’ o ‘miniLuna’.
As part of its characteristics, the space rock measures 10 meters wide and will orbit the Earth starting this Sunday, September 29, according to the mathematical models made by the researchers.
What are ‘mini Moons’?
The ‘mini Moons’ receive that name because they are celestial bodies who are trapped in the earth’s gravity temporarily. For this reason, they orbit around the planet before being expelled back into space and continuing their journey, according to information from Meteored.
However, although there are millions of space rocks, it is also necessary to take into account certain characteristics for them to be considered mini satellites.
One of them is that the celestial body must approach the planet at least 4.45 million kilometers with a speed of 3,540 kilometers per hour. It is these conditions that bind it to the Earth due to its gravity.
There is still no certainty of their origin, but it is believed that one of the areas where they are found would be the Arjuna asteroid belt. This belt is made up of a large number of similar bodies whose orbits are around the Sun and similar to those of the Earth, as explained by physicist Mar Gómez.
Will asteroid 2024 PT5 be visible?
It is expected that on approximately November 25 the ‘miniLuna’ little by little it moves away from the gravitational pull of the Earth and continues its path around the Sun.
Although asteroid 2024 PT5 will remain for several days, it will be difficult to observe it with the naked eye. The reason is its tiny size and only visible through specialized telescopes, tracking applications or astronomical observation.
During its passage around the Earth, the celestial body will provide data on the dynamics of these asteroidsas well as its gravitational interaction, as detailed on the Meteored page.
However, there are still some astronomical phenomena that will arrive before the end of the year. One of them is the comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS that would be visible in the coming days and another the annular solar eclipse for those in South America.
2024-09-28 15:00:01