Tiny Moon to Circle Earth for Two Months

Researchers from Universidad Complutense de Madrid Ciudad Universitaria have revealed that a small asteroid will enter Earth's orbit starting this month before heading back into the solar system.

Their study, published in the journal Research Notes of the AAS, details how Carlos de la Fuente Marcos and Raúl de la Fuente Marcos have identified that Earth occasionally captures asteroids briefly. They outline their calculations showing the trajectory of 2024 PT5 as it nears Earth.

Previous research has indicated that many asteroids follow elliptical orbits around Earth before eventually being expelled. For example, a small asteroid orbited Earth for roughly a year in 2006, and another did so for several years before departing in 2020.

In this latest study, the researchers examined an asteroid discovered last month by the Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System. Earlier observations suggested the asteroid was not on a collision path with Earth but might be temporarily captured by its gravity.

The asteroid, which is about 10 meters wide, was tracked for its size, speed, and orbit. The researchers projected that it will closely approach Earth and remain in its gravitational influence for about two months.

Their analysis predicts that the asteroid will complete a single orbit around Earth over a span of 53 days, beginning at the end of this month and exiting around mid-November.

Furthermore, they estimated that the asteroid likely originated from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which contains objects with similar orbits to Earth's. They also concluded that 2024 PT5 is a natural celestial body rather than space debris, based on its trajectory.