Joe Yates
Earth is set to temporarily obtain another moon at the end of this month.
Yes, it seems absolutely crazy saying, and even writing, that our planet will temporarily have a new moon... but it's true.
A mini-moon, which is actually a tiny asteroid, will orbit the Earth at the end of this month until November 25th.
Earth is set to temporarily obtain another moon on September 29th.
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 18, 2024
The asteroid known as a ‘mini-moon’ is expected to make a single orbit journey around Earth, ending on November 25th. pic.twitter.com/7UOS5LZ5vH
Our moon has orbited Earth for the last four billion years and it won't be alone from next week as the asteroid named '2024 PT5' will follow it on its journey.
Speaking about it to Space, Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos said: "The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles [150 million kilometers].
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"Objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt are part of the near-Earth object population of asteroids and comets."
Marcos is the research lead and has a team of scientists working beside him.
The Arjuna asteroid belt is a diverse jumble of space rocks and due to the orbit being close to ours it is estimated to orbit Earth again in January.
The tiny asteroid will be just 2.8 million miles away from earth, which may sound incredibly far, but in terms of space, it is actually a lot closer than you'd think - and it will travel at 2,200mph.
To put that into perspective the International Space Station orbits earth at 17,500mph.
He continued: "Under these conditions, the geocentric energy of the object may grow negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of Earth. This particular object will undergo this process starting next week and for about two months.
Adding: "It will not follow a full orbit around Earth.
"You may say that if a true satellite is like a customer buying goods inside a store, objects like 2024 PT5 are window shoppers."
So how can we spot it?
Well, unfortunately you can't... or at least not with household items like a telescope your mom bought you or a pair of binoculars.
No, 2024 PT5 is much harder to spot due to its size.
Marcos added: "The object is too small and dim for typical amateur telescopes and binoculars. However, the object is well within the brightness range of typical telescopes used by professional astronomers.
"A telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector are needed to observe this object, a 30 inches telescope and a human eye behind it will not be enough."