Asteroid 2024 PT5

Context:

Earth is about to gain a temporaryMini-Moonas an asteroid named‘2024 PT5’will pass by Earth and will be visible through telescopes along with the moon

More on the news:

• A recent study reveals that Earth’s gravitational field will temporarily capture asmall asteroid named 2024 PT5in late September
• Scientists discovered 2024 PT5 and shared their findings in the journal Research Notes of theAmerican Astronomical Societyearlier this month.

What are Mini Moons?

• Mini-moons are asteroids that get caught by Earth’s gravity and resulting in themtemporarily orbiting the planet.
• Mini-moons are typicallyvery small and difficult to detect

Characteristics:

• The length of time these mini-moons remain in orbit depends on the speed and trajectory with which they approach the Earth.
• Mini-moons donot have stable orbitsand can stay in Earth’s orbit for a few months to up to two years before breaking free from the Earth’s gravitational pull and returning to space on a trajectory away from Earth.
• They follow a “horseshoe” orbit path as a result of the asteroids being constantly pulled forwards and backwards by the gravity of Earth.
• Mini-moons can be composed of a mixture of metallic substances, carbon, clay, and silicate material.

Origins:

• According to a 2018 mini-moons study published in the Swiss journal,Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences,most mini-moons come towards Earth from theasteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Examples:

• An asteroid named2020 CD3,which served as a mini-moon was temporarily bound to Earth for several years before it left the planet’s orbit in 2020
• Another asteroid,2022 NX1,also served as a mini-moon of Earth from 1981 to 2022 and is expected to return in 2051.

About Asteroid 2024PT5:

• It was first spotted in August by the NASA-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System(ATLAS)located at theHaleakala Observatory on the island of Maui, Hawaii.

Characteristics:

• The asteroid 2024 PT5 is not a mini-moon technically, as itwill not complete one full revolutionaround Earth but will remain in the planet’sorbit for over 56 days
• This asteroid is roughly10 meters (33 feet)in diameter and will be captured by Earth’s gravity from September 29 to November 25, 2024.
• Earth has gained “mini-moons” before but this event is uncommon because earlier asteroids either missed the planet or disintegrated upon entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Note:

Mini-moons are considered important in the science community, as theycontain precious metals.

According to scientists, this asteroidis possibly a piece of ejecta from an impact on the moon.

2024 PT5 is larger than some of the other mini-moons, and will also return to Earth’s orbit — in 2055.