A rare mini-moon, a small asteroid temporarily captured by Earth's gravity, will briefly orbit the planet for two months. This 33-foot-long object, while billions of years old, was only recently discovered.
Earth is set to play host to a visiting “mini-moon.” An asteroid is expected to swing by Earth next week, then spend about two months orbiting the planet as it gets temporarily caught by Earth’s gravity, according to two astronomers in Spain who reported the discovery. The asteroid, dubbed 2024 PT5, is 33 feet long — roughly equivalent to a standard school bus.
Studies subsequently found that asteroid 2020 CD3 had most likely been captured by Earth’s gravity in 2017, three years before it was discovered in our planetary backyard. Before that, an asteroid named 2006 RH120, which orbits the sun and passes close to Earth every few decades, was captured by Earth’s gravity in June 2006 and stayed until around September 2007. Mini-moons tend to come in two “sizes,” Marcos said: short or long.
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