At a Glance
- Researchers discovered that a small asteroid, 2024 PT5, will temporarily orbit Earth starting this month before returning to its path around the Sun.
- Earth regularly captures asteroids for short periods, with past instances including a small asteroid orbiting Earth for about a year in 2006 and another for several years until 2020.
- The Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System detected asteroid 2024 PT5. While it is not on a collision course with Earth, new calculations predict it will be captured by Earth’s gravity.
- Measuring approximately 10 meters across, 2024 PT5 will complete one orbit around Earth in about 53 days, starting in late September and ending in mid-November.
- The asteroid likely originates from the Arjuna asteroids, indicating it is a natural asteroid rather than space debris.
Researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid have discovered that a small asteroid will orbit the Earth this month before returning to its path around the Sun. In their study published in Research Notes of the AAS, scientists Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos explain how this asteroid, designated 2024 PT5, will be temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity.
The study highlights that Earth regularly captures asteroids for short periods. In the past, some asteroids have orbited Earth for a few months or even years before departing. For instance, a small asteroid orbited Earth for about a year in 2006, and another did so for several years before leaving in 2020.
The researchers identified asteroid 2024 PT5, discovered last month by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). While earlier research showed it was not on a collision course with Earth, the new calculations predicted that due to its size and current trajectory, it would be temporarily captured by Earth’s gravity.
The asteroid, measuring just 10 meters across, will complete one orbit around Earth in about 53 days, starting at the end of September and ending in mid-November. The scientists also determined that 2024 PT5 likely originates from the Arjuna asteroids, which contain many asteroids with similar orbits to Earth’s. This finding suggests that 2024 PT5 is a natural asteroid rather than space debris.
References
- De La Fuente Marcos, C., & De La Fuente Marcos, R. (2024). A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT5 Captured by Earth from September to November. Research Notes of the AAS, 8(9), 224. https://doi.org/10.3847/2515-5172/ad781f
- Yirka, B. & Phys.org. (2024, September 13). Earth to have new mini-moon for two months. Phys.Org; Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-earth-mini-moon-months.html
