In a surprising turn of events, Earth may soon gain a temporary mini-moon due to a rare event called gravitational trapping.
The study, published in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, announces that a small asteroid named 2024 PT5 will become Earth's mini-moon for about two months, from September 29 to November 25 this year.
This new mini-moon is expected to complete one orbit around Earth before continuing its journey through the solar system.
2024 PT5, which measures around 10 meters in diameter, was first detected last month by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System.
Despite initial concerns, it has been confirmed that the asteroid is not on a collision course with Earth.
Researchers have used data on its size, speed, and trajectory to predict that it will come close enough to Earth to be briefly captured by its gravity.
The asteroid will orbit Earth once in 53 days.This temporary capture of 2024 PT5 provides a unique opportunity to study how small asteroids interact with Earth's gravity.
Past instances of Earth capturing asteroids include one that orbited for about a year in 2006 and another that remained for several years before leaving in 2020.
