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AN ASTEROID is expected to be hooked into Earth’s orbit tomorrow night, acting a second ‘tiny moon’ for the next two months.
The space rock, dubbed 2024 PT5, is from the not-so-distant Arjuna asteroid belt.
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This family of asteroids can travel quite close to Earth, at a distance of around 2.8 million miles (4.5 million kilometres).
It is part of a near-Earth object population of asteroids and comets that researchers from the Nasa-funded Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System monitor.
When travelling relatively close to Earth, some of these asteroids can get stuck in Earth’s orbit, and earn the title of ‘mini moons’.
Unlike the moon, space rock 2024 PT5 will not follow a full orbit around Earth.
Instead, it will orbit the Earth in a horseshoe shape, between September 29 to November 25.
The asteroid will eventually dislodge from orbit and return to a heliocentric orbit, which is an orbit around the sun.
It will then not be visit Earth again until 2055.
What’s the difference between an asteroid, meteor and comet?
Here’s what you need to know, according to Nasa…
- Asteroid: An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits the Sun. Most are found in the asteroid belt (between Mars and Jupiter) but they can be found anywhere (including in a path that can impact Earth)
- Meteoroid: When two asteroids hit each other, the small chunks that break off are called meteoroids
- Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it begins to vapourise and then becomes a meteor. On Earth, it’ll look like a streak of light in the sky, because the rock is burning up
- Meteorite: If a meteoroid doesn’t vapourise completely and survives the trip through Earth’s atmosphere, it can land on the Earth. At that point, it becomes a meteorite
- Comet: Like asteroids, a comet orbits the Sun. However rather than being made mostly of rock, a comet contains lots of ice and gas, which can result in amazing tails forming behind them (thanks to the ice and dust vaporizing)
Can I see the ‘mini moon’?
Unfortunately, the event will not be visible to the vast majority of skywatchers.
It won’t be caught by the naked eye, binoculars or even with a consumer-grade telescope.
At an absolute magnitude of 22, which is extremely low on the -10 to +20 scale, the ‘mini moon’ will be too dim to see.
It will take professional equipment to lay eyes on the asteroid.
Though several observatories have told The Sun that even professional telescopes will struggle to detect the faint object.
Fortunately, there are other events coming up on the cosmic calendar that you will be able to witness.
Draconid meteor shower
Comet 21 P/Giacobini-Zinner is expected to zoom past Earth next week, where stargazers can see an increase in shooting stars.
The Draconid meteor shower will be active between 6 and 10 October, but will peak around 8 to 9 October.
Unlike other meteor showers that are better caught early in the morning, the Draconid’s are best seen in the evening.
The amount of shooting stars that will be visible is unclear.
The Draconids caused some of the most active displays of the 20th century in 1933 and 1946, but have not been so sprightly in recent years.
But who knows, this year might be different.
Comet C/2023 A3
Comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, is also expected to reach peak brightness between 27 September and 2 October.
It’s long tail of dust and ice will be illuminated by the sun thanks to its orientation in the inner solar system, meaning it will be more visible to stargazers on Earth.
It’s possible comet A3 may even have two tails, one whiteish and one blueish.
Some astronomers believe it could be as bright as the 20 brightest stars in the night sky.
All you need to know about planets in our solar system
Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all…
- How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet
- How many moons does Mercury have?
- What colour is Venus?
- How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet
- How big is Jupiter?
- How many moons does Saturn have?
- Does Uranus have rings?
- How many moons does Neptune have?
- How big is Pluto?
- How hot is the Sun?
