Second moon to appear above Earth: When and what it means for us
Two moons will appear above the Earth (photo: freepik.com)
Soon, there will be two moons above the Earth at once. The second Moon will appear in late September thanks to a new asteroid discovered by scientists in August 2024.
RBC-Ukraine dwells on the second moon, when it will appear, and whether it will be possible to see it, citing Space.
Where second Moon will come from
The small asteroid 2024 HN5 was spotted by Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Alert System researchers in August. Thanks to the NASA-funded asteroid monitoring system, scientists spotted the unknown horseshoe-shaped space object during observations in Sutherland, South Africa.
Scientists tracked the asteroid's orbit for 21 days and determined its further path. According to the study, the asteroid 2024 PT5 comes from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which orbits the Sun.
When Earth will get second Moon
But the gravitational pull of the Earth will attract 2024 PT5, and, like the real Moon, it will orbit our planet. However, not for long - only 56.6 days, from September 29 to November 25.
This is not the first such object to enter the Earth's orbit. Some of them do not make a full revolution around the Earth, and some of them become mini-moons. The reasons for the ejection of these objects around the Earth are gravitational disturbances caused by the Sun.
The previous asteroid 2020 CD3 was tethered to Earth for several years, and 2022 NX1 was a mini-moon of the Earth in 1981, and 2022 and, according to scientists, will return in 2051.
2024 PT5 is larger than some other mini-moons, and it will also return to Earth's orbit in 2055.
The Earth's gravity will pull it into its orbit and the asteroid will have negative geocentric energy, meaning it will not be able to escape the Earth's gravitational pull.
It will orbit the Earth in a horseshoe shape before returning to heliocentric energy, meaning that it will then orbit the Sun again, like other planets and NEOs in our galaxy.
The researchers also noted that this asteroid will remain near the Earth for several months after it leaves its orbit. It will come closest to Earth on January 9, 2025, and then return to the Sun.
Will people be able to see second Moon?
According to scientist Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, the mini-moon will be too small to be seen through amateur telescopes or binoculars, but professional astronomers with more powerful instruments will be able to spot it.
“The object is too small and dim for typical amateur telescopes and binoculars. However, the object is well within the brightness range of typical telescopes used by professional astronomers. A telescope with a diameter of at least 30 inches plus a CCD or CMOS detector are needed to observe this object, a 30 inches telescope and a human eye behind it will not be enough,” the scientist explains.
Marcos explains that some of these objects in the Arjuna asteroid belt can approach Earth at close range of about 2.8 million miles (4.5 million km) and at low speeds of about 2,200 miles per hour (3,540 km/h).
Read also that the God of Chaos asteroid could be dangerous for the Earth.
