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Until Then Mini Moon: Telescope Snaps Earth’s Companion As It Leaves For Outer Solar System

We finally have a picture of Earth’s ‘mini moon.’

For nearly two months, Earth had a temporary companion in the form of a small asteroid, 2024 PT5. This ‘mini-moon,’ measuring about 37 feet wide, was captured by Earth’s gravity on September 29, and remained in orbit before departing back into space on November 25.

Astronomers studying 2024 PT5, including Carlos de la Fuente Marcos from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, always knew this capture was temporary. Predictions indicated the asteroid would only stay for a few weeks, and on Monday, those predictions came true as the asteroid left Earth’s gravitational influence to rejoin its usual orbit around the Sun.

The asteroid belongs to the Arjuna group, a secondary asteroid belt that orbits the Sun at a similar distance to Earth – around 150 million kilometers from the Sun. Despite its brief visit, 2024 PT5 offered scientists a unique opportunity to study its properties using advanced equipment like the Two-Meter Twin Telescope (TTT) in Spain, operated by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

Researchers discovered that the asteroid’s composition suggests it could be a fragment of Earth’s own Moon, possibly dislodged by an ancient asteroid impact. This surprising detail adds to the growing understanding of the origins of such near-Earth objects.

(Image: Two-Meter Twin Telescope/Light Bridges/Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias)

Although 2024 PT5 has now returned to its usual solar orbit, it won’t be staying away for long. According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the asteroid is expected to approach Earth again on January 9, 2025, coming even closer than its recent visit. At a distance of just 1.8 million kilometers, this flyby will bring the asteroid near Earth but moving too quickly at around 3,700 km per hour to be captured again by our planet’s gravity.

ALSO SEE: Earth Only Has One Moon. Next Week That Won’t Be True.

Looking further ahead, scientists predict that 2024 PT5 will return again in 2055, but its trajectory suggests it will stay much farther away, at a distance of over 5.3 million kilometers. While it will have the potential for gravitational capture, it’s unlikely to become Earth’s temporary moon again.

Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, speaking to Space.com, explained, “In 2055, it will remain too far from Earth to become a temporary satellite, staying beyond 45 million kilometers.”

Although brief, the presence of 2024 PT5 as a ‘mini-moon’ offered a rare chance to study an object that briefly became part of Earth’s gravitational system. These temporary satellites are rare and offer valuable insights into the dynamic nature of near-Earth space.

ALSO SEE: Earth’s Second Moon To Depart Soon, Here’s When It Will Be Visible Again



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