This asteroid, named 2024 PT5, was detected in August 2024 and has been captured by Earth's gravity since September 29 until November 25.
This “mini-moon,” measuring about ten meters in diameter, will orbit about 4,2 million kilometers from Earth, ten times the distance of our Moon. However, 2024 PT5 is too small to be visible to the naked eye. Observing it will require professional telescopes and ideal weather conditions. This rare phenomenon, observed only four times since the 2000s, occurs when near-Earth asteroids are temporarily captured by Earth’s gravitational field. Unlike our permanent Moon, these mini-moons remain in orbit for only a few weeks or months before resuming their trajectory in the solar system. In 2020, another asteroid, 2020 CD3, had been captured for several years before being discovered. Asteroid 2006 RH120, observed in 2006, remained in orbit for a year. These events provide astronomers with a unique opportunity to study gravitational interactions and the dynamics of small celestial bodies. For an asteroid to become a mini-moon, it must be traveling at less than 3600 km/h and approaching within 4,5 million kilometres of Earth, at a specific angle and trajectory. After its passage in 2024, the asteroid will return to Earth in January 2025, and again in 2055. _Vx
https://faxinfo.fr/en/insolite-astronomie-dans-les-deux-prochains-mois-la-terre-aura-une-mini-lune-ephemere/
