On September 29, 2024, Earth gets a temporary second moon for about two months. An asteroid monitoring system funded by NASA spotted this mini-moon one month ago in South America and labeled it 2024 PT5.
It will follow a horseshoe shape until November 25, 2024, unable to complete a full revelation of the Earth. After it leaves our orbit, it will return to orbit the sun while still staying near Earth for a few months.
The closest it will come to Earth again is in early January 2025, but not long after, it will leave our proximity and return in roughly 30 years.
Dr. Teddy Kareta, who works at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, said on “Morning Edition” that this mini-moon is not a rare occurrence, every couple of years we get another smaller moon.
The latest mini-moon in Earth’s history was 2022 named 2022 NX1. This mini-moon first appeared in 1981, then most recently in 2022, and it will come again in 2051.
Kareta also mentioned people wouldn’t see 2024 PT5 since it doesn’t reflect much sunlight. Only astronomers can view 2024 PT5 with the right equipment.
Even though we won’t see this new companion of our moon, it’s nice to know our moon has a friend for 57 days.
