289-Caution! Earth to Capture a New Moon for 53 Days: Meet Asteroid 2024 PT5

An artist’s concept of an asteroid. Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

Most asteroids can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth’s Moon.

*The mini-moon is officially known as asteroid 2024 PT5. After first joining up with Earth on Sept. 29, 2024, the mini-moon left its orbit around our planet at 10:43 a.m. EST (1543 GMT) on Monday (Nov. 25, 2024), not sticking around long enough to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday (Nov. 28).

“Earth is getting a new mini-moon! Asteroid 2024 PT5, a 10-meter rock, will be captured by Earth’s gravity for about 53 days starting in late September 2024. This rare event gives scientists a unique opportunity to study a near-Earth object up close and refine our asteroid detection systems. Learn why this mini-moon is important, what it means for our planet, and how it fits into the bigger picture of space exploration and planetary defense.”

https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/asteroids/#/home
NASA-EYES ON ASTEROIDS 
*NASA to Track Asteroid 2024 PT5 on Next Close Pass, January 2025. 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. So while it’s not quite a “mini-moon,” 2024 PT5 is an interesting object and NASA has plans to track it with planetary radar.