Earth’s New “Mini-Moon”

On September 29, 2024, Earth captured a temporary second moon in its orbit, which is anticipated to escape orbit on November 25, 2024.

The 2024 PT5, more commonly referred to as the mini-moon, was first discovered on August 7, 2024, by an ATLAS telescope (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System). With its width of 33 feet (10 meters wide), the PT5 was captured into orbit on September 29, 2024, keeping its distance from the Earth, being nine times farther away than the moon.

NASA stated, “Because 2024 PT5 has a similar motion to Earth’s around the Sun, the asteroid will linger as a distant companion of our planet for a few months at a distance of about nine times farther away from Earth than the Moon. During this time, the object will never be captured by Earth’s gravity.”

This means that Earth’s little visitor will not be gravitationally pulled or captured into Earth’s center of gravity. The PT5 is merely a temporary asteroid that will return to its regular orbit after it escapes the gravitational pull on November 24, 2024.

However, this raises the question of the mysterious mini-moon’s origin. Where is its original orbit, what is it made of and what can we learn from the PT5?

As stated in a publication by Baylor University, “The discovery of temporary mini-moons like 2024 PT5 contributes to our understanding of asteroid behavior and the early formation of the solar system. Asteroids such as 2024 PT5 are thought to be remnants from the solar system’s creation, offering scientists valuable insights into its composition and history.”

The mini-moon captured into our orbit allows scientists to further their understanding and research on the beginning and creation of the solar system.
However, the PT5 was not the only thing captured this fall, as some social media users and content creators spread the hashtag “#minimoon” across TikTok, capturing 10.2k views from users across the world. Using the platform to educate those who may have not heard of the PT5 or were not educated on the astounding astronomy-related topic.

Northwest High School Sophomore Hiya Shah, Co-founder of Next Scientists, stated, “I was scrolling on Instagram, and I saw a reel on my phone about the PT5, and I thought it was really cool. That’s how I found out about it.”

However, this temporary capture into orbit is not the only time the PT5 will come close to Earth. The asteroid is estimated to have another brief return in January 2025.

NASA shared, “[We] will track the object during its next close pass of our planet, in January 2025, which will still be five times as far from Earth as the Moon. The asteroid will then leave the vicinity of Earth as it continues its orbit around the Sun.”

While PT5 is not the first asteroid to join us for a period of time, it is still important to advancing space exploration and understanding our planet’s history and orbit patterns.