At the end of September, the Earth will acquire a second natural satellite. It will be a small asteroid 2024 PT5 with a diameter of about 11 meters, which will enter the orbit of our planet on September 29 and will rotate on it for 56.6 days, representing a kind of mini-moon. Asteroid 2024 PT5 was discovered by scientists working with telescopes of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System using equipment located in South Africa.
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Scientists from the Complutense University in Madrid tracked the asteroid’s flight path for three weeks. The findings indicate that asteroid 2024 PT5 is located in the Arjuna asteroid belt, which orbits the Sun. However, the Earth’s gravitational field will pull the asteroid towards the planet, after which it will rotate like our Moon for several weeks, and then on November 25 it will return to a heliocentric orbit, i.e. will continue to revolve around the Sun.
Note that it will not be possible to observe the asteroid from Earth using binoculars or amateur telescopes due to the small size of 2024 PT5. However, professional astronomers with more powerful instruments at their disposal will be able to monitor the movements of the cosmic body. Even after leaving our planet’s orbit, the asteroid will continue to remain near Earth for several months. It will make its closest approach to the planet on January 9, 2025, after which it will begin to move away. The next time 2024 PT5 will return to Earth’s orbit is in about 30 years.