The Science Behind the 'Mini-Moon' That Will Enter Earth's Orbit for Two Months | Science & Health

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, astronomer Jennifer Millard explained that the so-called “mini-moon” is “an asteroid that has been temporarily captured by Earth's gravity”.

“It will remain in our orbit for a few months and then follow its path around the sun,” she added.

Navigation engineer Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says it's inappropriate to use the term “minimoon” to describe 2024 PT 5.

According to the expert, there are two conditions for a body to orbit our planet.

“The first factor is the distance relative to Earth. The Moon is close enough that our planet’s gravity is the dominant force determining the motion of this natural satellite,” Farnocchia explained.

The engineer points out that the Earth has a “sphere of influence” of about four lunar distances, or 1.5 million kilometers.

In other words, for the motion of any celestial body to be affected by the gravity of our planet, it must be within this radius of motion.

But 2024 PT 5 will pass 9 lunar distances from Earth, outside this sphere of influence.

“The second element is that the moon’s energy is negative,” Farnocchia explained.

“This means that the moon is not moving fast enough to get away from the Earth.”

This creature [o 2024 PT5] It also has negative energy relative to the Earth, which is one of the two necessary conditions.”

“In other words, the asteroid is moving around the Sun and is close to Earth. But it is not so close that our planet will finally 'capture' it and start rotating, like the Moon,” the expert added.

Will 2024 PT5 impact Earth?

According to Farnocchia, the answer is no.

“The asteroid will have no effect on satellites or Earth,” he replied.

“There is nothing to worry about,” the researcher said.

Will it be possible to monitor 2024 PT5?

Unfortunately, this asteroid cannot be seen with the naked eye or with amateur skywatching equipment.

It can only be seen through specialized telescopes available at astronomical research centers.

As we mentioned at the beginning of the report, the 2024 PT5 is a very small body – it is about the size of a bus.

However, scientists will have a long time, about two months, to closely observe the asteroid's “journey” and study it in depth.

“Professionals will be able to monitor the track and collect additional data about it,” Farnocchia adds.

BBC Real reminds us that another asteroid will be visible to the naked eye in the coming years: Apophis will pass close to our planet on April 13, 2029.

Finally, Millard highlighted the fact that 2024 PT5 was only discovered in August of this year.

“It shows how full our solar system is and how many things there are still to discover,” she said.

“We know of about 34,000 asteroids in our ‘neighborhood.’ But there are hundreds of thousands more that have yet to be described.”

“This reinforces the importance of space observation and monitoring,” the astronomer concludes.