Astronomical phenomena are still on the rise. After the Perseids, the Harvest Full Supermoon and even a partial lunar eclipse, it looks like another remarkable event is coming: a ‘mini-moon’.
This phenomenon should ‘arrive’ in the next few days. Although fascinating, it will be temporary and is expected to last just two months. According to SIC Notícias, the Earth will gain this second moon when a small asteroid enters its orbit – called 2024 PT5.
According to Público, it is a small and dark body, so it will only be visible through professional telescopes and in places without light. In this context, and according to the same source, in Portugal it won’t even be possible to see the mini moon from any observatory.
Quite a small second moon
Despite the fact that it is not visible to the naked eye, nor with amateur telescopes and/or binoculars, it is important to note this phenomenon, which was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (Atlas), a program funded by NASA.
It is a mini-moon about ten meters long, so it is quite small compared to the Moon, with a diameter of about 3474 km.
Cited byJornal de Notícias, the study “A Two-month Mini-moon: 2024 PT Captured by Earth from September to November”, indicates the specific time of its duration: between September 29 and November 25.
Mini-moon: what does it take to become one?
According to the specialized website Space.com, a mini-moon must have the following characteristics:
- A distance of 4.5 million km from Earth
- Low-speed circulation.