Earth will have a temporary ‘mini moon’ for two months

WASHINGTON (AP) — Earth’s moon will quickly have some firm — a “mini moon.”

The mini moon is definitely an asteroid in regards to the dimension of a faculty bus at 33 ft (10 meters). When it whizzes by Earth on Sunday, will probably be briefly trapped by our planet’s gravity and orbit the globe — however just for about two months.

The house rock — 2024 PT5 — was first noticed in August by astronomers at Complutense College of Madrid utilizing a strong telescope positioned in Sutherland, South Africa.

These short-lived mini moons are doubtless extra widespread than we notice, mentioned Richard Binzel, an astronomer at Massachusetts Institute of Expertise. The final identified one was detected in 2020.

“This occurs with some frequency, however we hardly ever see them as a result of they’re very small and really onerous to detect,” he mentioned. “Solely not too long ago has our survey functionality reached the purpose of recognizing them routinely.”

This one received’t be seen to the bare eye or by way of newbie telescopes, he mentioned.

The invention by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos was revealed by the American Astronomical Society.

Binzel, who was not concerned within the analysis, mentioned it’s not clear whether or not the house rock originated as an asteroid or as “a bit of the moon that received blasted out.”

The mini moon will circle the globe for nearly 57 days however received’t full a full orbit. On Nov. 25, it’ll half methods with the Earth and proceed its solo trajectory by way of the cosmos. It’s anticipated to go by once more in 2055.

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