Earth Is Getting Another 'Moon' This September, but Only for 2 Months

Mar. 15, 2025

A stock photo of the moon and Earth.Photo:Getty

Getty

The Earth is getting a second “moon” later this month, but it won’t be sticking around for long.

The asteroid — named 2024 PT5 — is following a path resembling previous similar events, the research stated. It will return to the asteroid belt orbiting the sun after its brief stint as the moon’s companion.

The research explained that, “NEOs that follow horseshoe paths, and approach our planet at close range and low relative velocity, may undergo mini-moon events in which their geocentric energy becomes negative for hours, days or months, but without completing one revolution around Earth while bound.”

A picture of an asteroid approaching Earth.Getty

Lead researcher and Universidad Complutense de Madrid professor, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, toldSpace.com, “The object that is going to pay us a visit belongs to the Arjuna asteroid belt, a secondary asteroid belt made of space rocks that follow orbits very similar to that of Earth at an average distance to the sun of about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers).”

“Objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt are part of the near-Earth object population of asteroids and comets,” de la Fuente Marcos added.

The researcher told the outlet that some of these objects can “approach Earth at a close range of around 2.8 million miles (4.5 million km) and at low velocities of around 2,200 miles per hour (3,540 km/h),” which is what is needed for a NEO to become a “mini-moon,” according to the publication.

De la Fuente Marcos also said that, “Under these conditions, the geocentric energy of the object may grow negative, and the object may become a temporary moon of Earth. This particular object will undergo this process starting next week and for about two months. It will not follow a full orbit around Earth,” per the outlet.

“You may say that if a true satellite is like a customer buying goods inside a store, objects like 2024 PT5 are window shoppers,” he added.

The researcher explained how, though it is rare, there have been instances where the “mini-moons” stick around for longer, sometimes lasting over a year, perSpace.com.

“So far, science has only identified two objects subjected to long captures, 2006 RH120 and 2020 CD3. There are three examples published of short captures: 1991 VG, 2022 NX1, and 2024 PT5. But there are several others unpublished.”

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The researcher also said that most people, unfortunately, won’t be able to view the “mini-moon” later this month.

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

The American Astronomical Society research also said that “after completing the mini-moon episode,” 2024 PT5 will leave “the neighborhood of Earth,” in January before “its next return in 2055.”

source: people.com