Earth’s Second Moon To Be Visible On Sept 29; Here’s How To See It? (image-X/SyeClops)
Starting tomorrow, our beloved moon will get a new companion, but only for 57 days. A cosmic surprise awaits all stargazers this autumn when an asteroid will temporarily become Earth’s “mini moon.” Pulled by the planet’s gravitational force, the comet will orbit the planet from September 29 to November 25.
The “temporarily captured object,” 2024 PT5, is an asteroid with an 11-meter diameter, roughly the same size as a London bus. On November 25, the comet will bid farewell to planet Earth and resume its journey through the solar system.
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2024 PT5 was discovered on August 7 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope in South Africa’s Sutherland. Known as a near-Earth asteroid (NEA), the second moon is a member of the Arjuna asteroid group, which orbits the sun along an orbital path slightly farther out into the solar system than Earth’s orbital path.
Interestingly, 2024 PT5 is not planet Earth’s first “mini moon.” Earth is known to capture and pull NEO’s into its orbit. In 1981 and in 2022, 2022 NX 1 became a fleeting friend to Earth.
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How To See The Second Moon?
The celestial visitor is a small and dim rock that will not be visible to the naked eye. At a magnitude of 22, the ‘mini-moon’ can be seen with large professional 30-inch telescopes. Binoculars or home telescopes are also likely to be useful to catch a glimpse of the rare object in the sky.
