A Temporary Companion for Earth

For a brief period, Earth will have a new companion in the form of a small asteroid, affectionately referred to as a "mini moon". This tiny space rock, measuring about 33 feet in length, will be captured by our planet's gravity and orbit the Earth for approximately two months. The asteroid, designated 2024 PT5, was first spotted in August by a team of astronomers at Complutense University of Madrid using a powerful telescope located in Sutherland, South Africa. The discovery of these short-lived mini moons is more common than we might think. According to Richard Binzel, an astronomer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, these small asteroids are likely to be more frequent than we realize. In fact, the last known mini moon was detected in 2020. "This happens with some frequency, but we rarely see them because they're very small and very hard to detect," Binzel explained. "Only recently has our survey capability reached the point of spotting them routinely."

The mini moon, 2024 PT5, will not be visible to the naked eye or through amateur telescopes. It will circle the globe for almost 57 days, but will not complete a full orbit. On November 25th, it will part ways with the Earth and continue its solo journey through the cosmos. It's expected to pass by again in 2055. It's unclear whether the space rock originated as an asteroid or as a chunk of the moon that got blasted out. Binzel notes that the mini moon will be a fascinating subject for scientists to study, providing valuable insight into the formation and evolution of our solar system.

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