An asteroid named 2024 PT5 will temporarily orbit Earth as a 'mini moon' for about two months due to our planet's gravitational pull. The space rock, about the size of a school bus, was first spotted in August by astronomers and is expected to be trapped in Earth's orbit until November.
Christina LarsonAn asteroid known as 2024 PT5 will temporarily join Earth 's orbit in space as a " mini moon ", but it won't be for long.The mini moon is actually an asteroid about the size of a school bus at 33 feet . When it whizzes by Earth on Sunday, it will be temporarily trapped by our planet's gravity and orbit the globe - but only for about two months.
These short-lived mini moons are likely more common than we realize, said Richard Binzel, an astronomer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The last known one was detected in 2020. The discovery by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos was published by the American Astronomical Society.
Asteroid Mini Moon Orbit Earth Astronomy
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