A small asteroid, often referred to as a “mini moon,” has been orbiting Earth for the past few months and is now set to exit into the broader solar system.
The asteroid, designated 2024 PT5, was initially detected in early August by a telescope in Sutherland, South Africa, as part of NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). It’s classified as a “mini moon” due to its modest size, believed to measure approximately 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter, and its transient nature, indicating that it will not remain bound to Earth’s gravity.
The asteroid has been orbiting at a distance about nine times greater than that of the moon from Earth, and it posed no danger to life on our planet.
According to NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS), “The movement of asteroid 2024 PT5 resembles that of our planet, leading scientists to theorize that it might be a substantial fragment dislodged from the moon’s surface following an ancient asteroid impact.”
After its final close encounter on November 25, asteroid 2024 PT5 will drift away from our vicinity and continue its path around the sun. The timing of its departure is influenced by the gravitational effects of Earth, the moon, and the sun, which are redirecting the asteroid back into its original solar orbit.
Professor Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, part of the team that identified 2024 PT5, stated in a September interview that this asteroid belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt. This secondary belt comprises space rocks that follow trajectories closely aligned with Earth’s orbit at an average distance of about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). He likened the relationship between Earth and objects like 2024 PT5 to “window shoppers” compared to true satellites, which can be seen as customers in a store.
While a close pass is anticipated in January of next year, 2024 PT5 won’t be back in our neighborhood until 2055 and then again in 2084.
