Earth will gain a “second moon” this month; understand

Our planet will gain a “second moon” this month : the little one asteroid 2024 PT5 will orbit the Earth for a few weeks, as if it were a satellite.

The study that identified this phenomenon was published in the journal The Research Notes of the AAS this month.

2024 PT5 is part of the Arjuna asteroid belt and is expected to approach our planet due to gravitational disturbances caused by the Sun. When these celestial objects come close to Earth — about 4.5 million km — at a low speed — of about 3,500 km/h — they can be captured by Earth’s orbit and act as a temporary moon.

Unlike our Moon itself, which has been orbiting the planet for about 4 billion years, 2024 PT5 is expected to remain in our orbit for about two months before returning to Arjuna’s belt, without being able to complete a full orbit.

These episodes, also called mini-moons, occur with a certain frequency, and generally last for a short period of time, less than a complete orbit, as with asteroid 2024 PT5. Although long episodes can also occur, in which mini-moons accompany the Earth for more than a year.

Will it be possible to observe the “second moon”?

During its passage through Earth’s orbit, asteroid 2024 PT5 should not be visible to most night sky observers.

One of the authors of the study and professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, explained in an interview with Space.com that the asteroid is too small to be observed by amateurs.

“The object is too small and dim for amateur telescopes and binoculars. However, the object is well within the brightness range of telescopes typically used by professional astronomers,” he said.

“A telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector are needed to observe this object, a 30-inch telescope and a human eye behind it will not be enough,” he added.

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This content was originally published in Earth will gain a “second moon” this month; find out more on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil

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