The Earth is getting a second, mini-moon, so can I see it? | Hey Ray
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - You may have heard by now about Earth getting a second moon starting next week. I am going to be honest with you right out of the gate - this is not going to be as exciting as it sounds.
First, let's start with what is happening.
An asteroid with the name 2024 PT5 was discovered on August 7th of this year. Using complex math, and after tracking this asteroid's path for 21 days, the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System determined that it would briefly get pulled into Earth's orbit.
This is something that can happen regularly.
There are many objects floating in Space near Earth that get pulled into the orbit. Some never make one complete revolution before dropping out of that orbit, but others can complete one or more trips around Earth.
The ones that make a full revolution are referred to as mini-moons. 2024 PT5 is going to become one of those mini-moons.
This is all going to begin next week.
The asteroid will become gravitationally tethered to Earth on September 29th. From there, Earth and 2024 PT5 will stay tethered until November 25th. While it will release from Earth's gravitational pull at that time, it will stay near Earth for a while. This means we get a mini-moon for 56.6 days, but it won't be anything close to the Moon we have always known.
2024 PT-5 is only 24 feet wide. The same distance as an NBA three-pointer. On the other hand, the diameter of our main Moon is 2159.1 miles.
That is roughly as wide as the United States.
This means you will not be able to see this mini-moon with the naked eye. You likely won't be able to see it with a telescope either. You need more sophisticated equipment to see it. If no one told you about it, you honestly wouldn't even know about it.
According to a CBS News report, Asteroid 2024 PT5 will return to Earth's orbit in 2055, so you may get to hear about this again in a little over 30 years!
The path of 2024 PT5 will miss Earth and our Moon, so there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Since you probably don't have the equipment to see it, it is nothing to get too excited about either.