The Fascinating Journey of 2024 PT5: Earth's Temporary Mini-Moon

The Intriguing Arrival of 2024 PT5, Earth's Mini-Moon

The latest highlight of astronomers’ discussions is a fascinating new mini-moon, 2024 PT5, that is poised to briefly enter Earth's orbit. Scheduled to begin its orbit on September 29, this near-Earth asteroid will be temporarily held in our planet's gravitational pull before being thrust back into the solar system to orbit the sun. An Arjuna asteroid, 2024 PT5 sports an impressive 11-meter diameter. According to Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, the asteroid will remain within Earth's orbit until November 25, after which, it will begin to orbit the sun once again. In addition, the asteroid will also have a particularly close approach to Earth on January 9, 2025.

Current Position of the New Mini-Moon

For those excited about the arrival of our temporary celestial neighbor, constellations serve as helpful celestial maps. Currently, 2024 PT5 is located in the constellation Draco, in the northern hemisphere's sky. It is situated approximately 1.9 million miles, or three million kilometers, away from our planet. Unfortunately, owing to its magnitude of 22, it remains too faint to be visible with the naked eye or regular, household telescopes. Only with professional-grade 30-inch telescopes will astronomers be able to spot this elusive object. It was originally found in the Arjuna Asteroid belt, which boasts an Earth-like orbit around the sun and is believed to have originated from the Main Asteroid Belt lying between Mars and Jupiter. The South African Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope discovered it on August 7.

Earth's Other Satellite Companions

Though the moon is the only permanent, large-scale object orbiting Earth, our planet has managed to entice a number of quasi-satellites over time. Among them is Kamo'oalewa, also known as 2016 HO3. This is an interesting celestial body that, due to its synchronized movement with Earth, appears to orbit our planet while in fact orbiting the sun. Named after the Hawaiian term for “oscillating celestial object,” Kamo'oalewa measures approximately the same size as the Statue of Liberty, ranging from 130 to 330 feet (40 to 100 meters) across, and was discovered in 2016.