A mini-moon, which is actually a small asteroid, will orbit Earth from the end of this month until November 25th.
Earth is set to temporarily obtain another moon on September 29th.
The asteroid known as a ‘mini-moon’ is expected to make a single orbit journey around Earth, ending on November 25th. pic.twitter.com/7UOS5LZ5vH
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 18, 2024
But starting next week, it will have some company.
The asteroid, named ‘2024 PT5’, will join the moon on its journey around Earth.
“The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles [150 million kilometers].
“Objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt are part of the near-Earth object population of asteroids and comets.”
The Arjuna asteroid belt, a collection of diverse space rocks, shares an orbit close to Earth’s.
According to the team, this tiny asteroid is expected to return to Earth’s orbit again in January.
To put that in perspective, the International Space Station orbits Earth at 17,500 mph.
Marcos continued, “Under these conditions, the geocentric energy of the object may grow negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of Earth. This particular object will undergo this process starting next week and for about two months.”
So, can we see it? Well, sadly, the answer is no, or at least not with typical household items like a regular telescope or a pair of binoculars.
He also mentioned that, “A telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector are needed to observe this object. A 30-inch telescope with just the human eye won’t be enough.”
