Leading scientists said that our planet will have another moon by the end of this month but it’ll not shine like the one we have had for millions of years.
This “mini-moon”, as scientists called it, is an asteroid known as 2024 PT5 from the Arjuna asteroid belt that is following a temporary orbit around Earth, scientists said.
PT5 Will Not Complete Full Orbit
The study published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society observes that the reason Earth is able to capture the mini-moon is because of its slow velocity and low range.
The 2024 PT5 will not complete a full orbit but instead it will act as a “window shopper,” briefly bound by Earth’s gravity.
A Common Phenomenon
The asteroid’s journey is part of a phenomenon in which near-Earth objects can occasionally become mini-moons that go on for weeks and sometimes months.
Mini-moons like 2024 PT5 are fairly common, occurring several times per decade, after which they return back.
