Earth will have a “new moon” for two months (VIDEO)

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September 16, 2024, 11:11 am

A small asteroid known as 2024 PT5 is gearing up for a brief but extraordinary visit to our planet. Discovered on August 7 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System) impact warning system in South Africa, the asteroid, about 10 to 11 meters in diameter, is about the size of a bus. Earth and will become a “minimoon” for approximately two months.

By T.W.

According to astronomers Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos from the Complutense University of Madrid, the asteroid will begin its orbit around Earth on September 29 and stay with us until November 25. During those 56.6 days, Earth can boast two moons: our ever-faithful companion and this strange temporary mini-moon.

Video: @tony873004 /

While the idea of ​​having a new cosmic observer is exciting, you don't want to get too excited about the possibility of seeing it with the naked eye. With an absolute magnitude of 27.6, 2024 PT5 is too faint to be seen with most amateur telescopes, so we need to know that it is orbiting us.

Researchers believe the asteroid may be a member of the Arjuna family, a group of near-Earth objects whose orbits resemble those of our planet. These objects owe their name to the prince of ancient India, the protagonist of the Hindu epic Mah?prata.

“Such orbital components are consistent with Arjunus, a population of small NEOs that resonate poorly.” [objetos cercanos a la Tierra] in the secondary asteroid belt around a path that follows the Earth-Moon system,” the researchers write in their study published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

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