Earth's Moon to have a mini companion for two months: Know what it is
New Delhi: In a rare event, Earth’s lone satellite Moon will have a temporary companion for about two months, as our planet’s gravity will capture a wandering asteroid from September 29 to November 25 this year.
The asteroid 2024 PT5, set to revolve around the Earth for 53 days, was spotted by the asteroid warning system, Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), funded by NASA.
In a report, Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society (RNAAS) noted that the asteroid has a diameter of 33 ft or 10 m.
The mini-satellite will not be able to make a full orbit and instead perform a horseshoe loop before freeing itself from the Earth’s gravitational pull, it said.
The report prepared by Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raul de la Fuente Marcos said Earth tends to capture asteroids. These asteroids sometimes complete one or more full revolutions, while other times they escape Earth's gravity before traversing the full course of its orbit.
In 2006, an asteroid temporarily captured by Earth's gravity orbited the planet for a year, from July 2006 to July 2007.
The newly discovered asteroid, 2024 PT5, appears to follow a trajectory similar to that of 2022 NX1, which passed by Earth in 1981 and 2022 without completing a full orbit. It is expected to make another partial orbit in 2051.
Though Earth occasionally pulls space debris into orbit, the report indicates that 2024 PT5 is a natural object.
It notes that "its short-term dynamical evolution closely resembles that of 2022 NX1, a confirmed natural object." Additionally, its orbital characteristics are similar to those of asteroids originating from the Arjuna asteroid belt.
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