Asteroid 2024 PT5, which is presently hurtling in the direction of Earth, moderately than burning up within the environment, will possible stay in orbit and change into a minimoon. Nonetheless, it is going to be a fleeting go to and can in all probability solely keep within the planet’s gravitational grip for 2 months.
The asteroid was found on August 7 and is about 10 meters in diameter.
Two astronomers from the Complutense College of Madrid, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos, studied the movement of the item and concluded that it is going to be caught in Earth’s orbit for a brief interval between September 29 and November 25. It should then fall again into the Solar’s orbit and proceed its journey via the Photo voltaic System.
In different phrases, for a complete of 56.6 days, Earth can have two moons (extra exactly, one true moon and one minimoon).
The research notes that 2024 PT5 is “unlikely to be synthetic,” that means it’s in all probability not only a piece of area junk that might be mistaken for a minimoon. Researchers recommend it might be the Arjuna asteroid, a near-Earth object with an orbit just like that of our planet. It’s named after an historic prince of the Kuru kingdom, positioned in present-day India, and a central character within the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Sadly, you’ll hardly have the ability to see the minimoon. Based on NASA’s JPL Small Physique Database, 2024 PT5 has an absolute magnitude of 27.6, which may be very faint and won’t be seen in most newbie telescopes.
So-called minimoons have graced Earth with their household earlier than – for instance, asteroid 2022 NX1 in 1981. It rapidly left our planet’s attain earlier than returning as a minimoon in 2022. It’s predicted that in 2051 it is going to once more will return.
2024 PT5 can also be anticipated to make a number of visits. The asteroid will return to Earth’s orbit in January 2025 earlier than rapidly leaving and returning once more in 2055.
Illustrative Picture by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photograph/full-moon-during-night-time-53153/