Planet Earth set to have an asteroid named ‘Mini-Moon’ for next one-month
Labeled as ‘mini-moon’, the discovery of the small asteroid has triggered lot of excitement, among the community of amateur and professional astronomers, not only in India but across the globe
Hyderabad: The planet Earth is all set to have a ‘mini-moon’ for the next one month!
A tiny space rock (asteroid) named as 2024 PT5, which was reported by Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS)- an asteroid early warning system funded by NASA in University of Hawai- will be orbiting our planet till the end of November, before escaping the Earth’s gravity.
Labeled as ‘mini-moon’, the discovery of the small asteroid has triggered lot of excitement, among the community of amateur and professional astronomers, not only in India but across the globe.
The near earth object is expected to come within 5, 67, 000 kilometers of Earth during its closest approach. This distance is roughly one and half times the average distance to the moon, according reports suggested.
While the size of the 2024 PT5 is significantly smaller than our moon, the temporary orbiting of the asteroid, which is only 33 feet in width, is a rare event that occurs once in a decade or 20 years.
Interestingly, according to the research lead author and Universidad Complutense de Madrid professor Carlos de la Fuente Marco, the 2024 PT5 originated from Arjuna asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, this celestial visitor offers a rare opportunity for scientists to study near-Earth objects up close.
The sighting of the small asteroid, according to astronomers, provides an opportunity to capture invaluable data and helps to understand the dynamics of such asteroids that might pose a risk to our planet.
The length of the mini-moon events can vary with some lasting for a year or even more to complete a full or multiple revolutions around Earth. Despite its diminutive size, 2024 PT5 is not visible to the naked eye and requires advanced telescopes for observation, according to reports.
As 2024 PT5 continues its brief sojourn around Earth, amateur astronomers and scientists eagerly await for the possible insights that the small space rock might reveal about the cosmos and near Earth objects.
