Earth Has a Second Moon

Earth has temporarily captured a “mini-moon” known as asteroid 2024 PT5. This small asteroid, measuring about 33 feet (10 meters) wide, was first detected on August 7 by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). It will orbit our planet for approximately 57 days, from September 29 until November 25, 2024, when it will break free and resume its path around the sun.

Despite being dubbed a “second moon,” 2024 PT5 is too small to be visible to the naked eye. It is about 300,000 times smaller than Earth’s permanent moon, making it invisible even through typical amateur telescopes and binoculars. Only professional astronomers using advanced telescopes can observe this tiny companion.

While you might not be able to spot this mini-moon, you can still catch a bright celestial show—Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, visible in the morning sky until October 2.