We’re at it again. Once again, our Earth will have a second moon for two months, a new moon. Every now and then, an asteroid from a somewhat distant part of our solar system will come close to Earth on its journey and capture it for a period of time, generally short.
This is what will happen in 2024 Pacific Time 5, that is the unromantic name of the future mini-Moon of Earth which will enter our planet’s zone of interest on September 29 and will accompany it for two months, until November 25. Don’t worry, it will not reach our planet, the laws of celestial mechanics are very clear, and this small rocky body, about 11 meters long, has no chance of falling on our heads.
temporary new moon
The new, temporary moon of Earth belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, made up of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to Earth’s at an average distance of 150 million kilometers, which is exactly the average distance between Earth and the Sun. In simple terms, it is a traveling companion that will travel with us along the way, a little closer than usual. To become a mini-moon, the asteroid would have to reach, in its trajectory, a relatively low distance from Earth, less than three million kilometers, and at an equally limited speed, around 3,600 kilometers per hour, which could be captured by Earth’s gravity or at least deflected.
It is not a new phenomenon, it has even happened twice recently with objects that remained captured for a long time, we are talking about several months, in 2006 and 2020, and two others accompanied the Earth for short periods, as 2024 PT5 will do, and this happened in 1991 and 2022.
To be precise, the asteroid we are talking about, discovered by NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) telescope, which is potentially dangerous, on August 7, cannot be classified as a mini-moon, because it will not be one. In the two months that it is close to us, it will orbit our planet. Rather, it will follow a horseshoe-shaped path: it will arrive, circle our planet, and then leave on the other side of the one it entered, but it will not close the orbit.
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