Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Starting from September 29, 2024, Earth's gravity will capture a small asteroid named 2024 PT5, creating a temporary "mini-moon" that will orbit the planet for about two months until November 25, 2024.
The asteroid, first spotted on August 7 using NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), has a diameter of approximately 10 meters (33 feet) and will remain in Earth's gravitational pull for 53 days.
Unlike Earth's permanent moon, 2024 PT5 won’t complete a full orbit around the planet. Instead, it will follow a horseshoe-shaped path before eventually breaking free from Earth's gravitational influence.
According to the *Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society* report by Carlos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos, the event is not unique. Earth has captured asteroids before, like in 2006, when a similar object orbited for a year.
The path of 2024 PT5 is similar to that of the asteroid 2022 NX1, which performed a temporary flyby around Earth in 1981 and 2022 without completing a full orbit. It is expected to return in 2051 for another close encounter.
The report confirms that 2024 PT5 is a natural object, not space debris. Its orbital properties closely resemble those of asteroids from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which are known for their short-term dynamical evolution around Earth.
Earth occasionally captures small asteroids in its orbit, sometimes holding them for full revolutions. However, others, like 2024 PT5, perform partial orbits before breaking free.
In addition to 2024 PT5, Earth has had similar encounters in the past, such as in 2006-2007. These temporary mini-moons offer unique opportunities for study and provide insight into the interactions between Earth's gravity and small celestial objects.