Sat Sep 14 18:57:49 UTC 2024: ## Earth to Get a Mini-Moon for Two Months
**London, UK -** A tiny asteroid, dubbed 2024 PT5, is set to become a temporary “mini-moon” for Earth, orbiting our planet for a brief period between September 29th and November 25th.
Discovered on August 7th, the asteroid measures around 10 meters in diameter and is likely to be an “Arjuna asteroid,” a near-Earth object with an orbit similar to our planet. Researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid determined that 2024 PT5 will be captured by Earth’s gravity for a period of 56.6 days.
While this will give Earth two moons for a short time, the mini-moon will be too dim to be visible with most amateur telescopes.
This isn’t the first time Earth has had a temporary mini-moon. Asteroid 2022 NX1 was a short-lived mini-moon in 1981 and returned for another visit in 2022.
2024 PT5 is expected to make multiple visits to Earth’s orbit, with future returns anticipated in January 2025, 2055 and potentially beyond.
The study detailing these findings is published in the journal *Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society*.
First Piper 