Earth To Get A Mini-Moon For 2 Months? All You Need To Know
NDTV
The asteroid 2024 PT5 was spotted on August 7 using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), a NASA-funded asteroid impact early warning system.
Earth's moon will soon have a temporary junior companion, an apparent mini moon revolving around our planet for about two months. In a rare event, an asteroid will be captured by Earth's gravity and will orbit the earth from September 29 to November 25 this year.
The asteroid 2024 PT5 was spotted on August 7 using the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), a NASA-funded asteroid impact early warning system.
According to a report published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, the asteroid is not too big with a diameter of just 10 metre (33 feet). During its 53-day tenure around the earth, 2024 PT5 will not be able to make a full orbit, instead it will perform a horseshoe loop before breaking away from the earth's gravitational pull.
