Among all the planets in our solar system, Earth is the only one with a single Moon. However, for about two months starting today, Earth will have a second visitor, a ‘mini moon.’
A mini moon is a “small asteroid or space rock temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity,” explains Khadijah Ahmad, Operations Manager at Dubai Astronomy Group.
This mini moon is expected to enter Earth’s gravitational field at 11:54 PM on September 29 and will remain in orbit until 12:43 AM on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, according to Ammar Sakaji, a theoretical physicist at the International Astronomical Center (IAC).
While our Moon will have a companion for a short time, the newly discovered mini moon, named 2024 PT5, is much smaller, about the size of a bus.
Earth’s Moon has a diameter of approximately 3,475 km, while 2024 PT5 measures about 10 to 11 meters wide. This means our Moon is “around 308,108 times larger than typical mini moons,” Khadijah said.
Ammar noted that this mini moon is part of the “Arjuna Asteroid Belt,” which consists of space rocks that follow orbits similar to Earth’s, with an average distance from the Sun of about 149 million km.
The mini moon was discovered on August 7 at the Atlas Observatory in South Africa, and its closest approach to Earth was on August 8, at a distance of about 567,000 km.
Can Residents of the UAE Spot the Mini Moon?
Due to the small size of these space rocks, they cannot be seen with the naked eye. They are “too dim or faint” and cannot be observed even with binoculars or regular telescopes in the UAE or elsewhere, according to Khadijah.
Only telescopes with an 8-meter diameter or larger, equipped with the right cameras, can view the asteroid, Ammar explained. He added, “The asteroid poses no threat to Earth, as it orbits at a distance of 4.5 million km much farther than the average distance to the Moon, which is currently 396,000 km.”
The mini moon will also not affect Earth’s tides or natural events, as its “mass and gravitational influence are very small compared to that of Earth’s Moon,” Khadijah stated.
After its orbit around Earth, the asteroid will escape Earth’s gravitational field, be drawn toward the Sun, and continue to orbit it, Ammar noted.
Why is it Named 2024 PT5?
Khadijah explained the naming of the asteroid:
2024 – the year it was discovered. P indicates it was found in the second half of August, according to the naming system by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) that uses letters to divide each month into two halves. For instance, A and B refer to the first and second halves of January, respectively. T5 shows it is the fifth object discovered during that period.
