Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
The "mini moon," a school-bus-sized asteroid, briefly joins Earth's orbit and will soon vanish until 2055, marking a rare space encounter.
Asteroid 2024 PT5, spotted by NASA’s ATLAS alert system, turned up unexpectedly, showing the skies still hold surprises for even vigilant astronomers.
Representative pic
This asteroid measures about 33 feet wide. Though small compared to the Moon, it’s notable among mini moons for its significant size, per Baylor University’s Barbara Castanheira Endl.
Representative pic
NASA confirms there’s no danger: this "mini moon" will remain at a safe distance from Earth, roughly nine times farther than our Moon.
Asteroid 2024 PT5 may be a Moon fragment from an ancient impact, says NASA’s CNEOS, showing its origins as a celestial castaway.
Despite its size, this "mini moon" is nearly impossible to see without a large telescope—better luck catching it in 2055!
The asteroid hails from the Arjuna belt, where objects follow Earth-like orbits, making occasional visits to our planet's neighborhood.
Astronomy professor Matt Pryal highlights the asteroid’s flyby as a valuable case for studying near-Earth objects and improving detection.
Like other near-Earth asteroids, PT5 orbits without threat, drifting until its next gravitational capture by Earth in 2055.